Happy Birthday! Louise Brown, the world’s first IVF baby, celebrates her 40th birthday with some Bourn Hall Babies
Louise Brown invited some recent Bourn Hall Babies to help her blow out the candles on her cake. The world’s first ‘test-tube’ baby is celebrating her 40th birthday on 25th July 2018.
After a brief introduction by Dr Thanos Papathanasiou, Regional Lead Clinician for Bourn Hall, Louise said a few words to the guests:
“Thank you so much for inviting me here today.
“Bourn Hall was formed by the pioneers of IVF after I was born and I have great memories of coming here many times as a child, usually around my birthday.
” I would rather keep it quiet that I am 40 but the IVF community around the world won’t let me do that.
“A few weeks ago I was in Barcelona, Spain. A short distance away some experts were releasing a report saying there are now eight million IVF babies in the world. That is an incredible thought, that it all started with Bob Edwards, Patrick Steptoe, Jean Purdy and my mum and dad.
“Many of you here today are part of that worldwide IVF family.
“We are celebrating 40 years of IVF this year, rather than my individual birthday.
“I have already had “Happy Birthday” sung to me on four continents this year – in Africa it was in Marakesh, Morrocco; in America it was in Chicago and in Asia in Tokyo, Japan. In Europe it was at a nightclub in Barcelona, Spain! I understand we are going to sing it again and it would be great if all the children can help me blow out the candles!”
In this picture we have from from left to right
Sophie Simms from Enfield, who will be 2 a week after Louise; Aiden Mullinder, Louise’s son, who is 4; Louise herself, 40; Fletcher Stonestreet from Bedfordshire who is 3; and Martha Weavers from Norfolk who is 3.
More information
IVF is 40 celebrated at the Science Museum
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