John Webster (doctor)

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John Webster
John-webster-doctor.jpg
Webster in 2006
Born (1936-07-04) 4 July 1936 (age 85)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater University of Liverpool
Known forAssisting Patrick Steptoe with the birth of the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown
Scientific career
FieldsDoctor
Institutions Bourn Hall Clinic, Oldham General Hospital, CARE Fertility

John Webster FRCOG (born 4 July 1936) is an English obstetrician and gynaecologist. Present at the world's first in vitro fertilisation (IVF) birth, Louise Brown, Webster has continued to develop and further research in the field of IVF.

Contents

Life and career

Webster graduated from University of Liverpool in 1960, gaining an MB ChB. From 1960 to 1963, he was a House Officer at Clatterbridge Hospital in Liverpool. From 1963 to 1964, he was the Senior House Officer to Mr Patrick Steptoe. From 1964 to 1974, Webster practised in Canada. From 1974 to 1980, he was a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology and infertility as registrar / consultant to Mr Patrick Steptoe at Oldham General Hospital. It was during this time that Webster was involved with early pioneering research into in vitro fertilization with Patrick Steptoe and Bob Edwards. He was also awarded his MRCOG during this period. [1]

Webster was present at the birth of Louise Brown (world's first IVF baby, born 25 July 1978) and assisted Patrick Steptoe with the delivery. [2]

In 1980, Webster was invited by Steptoe and Edwards to establish with them the world's first IVF clinic at Bourn Hall. Webster served as Deputy Medical Director at Bourn Hall from 1980 to 1985. [1]

In 1985 Webster established an IVF Unit (CARE Fertility) at the Park Hospital in Nottingham, the sixth unit in the UK, and the first in the Midlands. He served there as a Medical Director from 1985 to July 2006. He was also present at the opening of the new purpose built building which houses CARE Fertility in Nottingham, and is named after him, John Webster House. [3]

In 1988 Webster was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Related Research Articles

In vitro fertilisation Assisted reproductive technology procedure

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from her ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After the fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is implanted in the woman or another woman's uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

Louise Joy Brown is an English woman who was the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation experiment (IVF). Her birth, following a procedure pioneered in Britain, has been lauded among "the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th Century".

Patrick Steptoe British gynaecologist responsible for the first test-tube baby

Patrick Christopher Steptoe CBE FRS was a English obstetrician and gynaecologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards and the nurse Jean Purdy for developing in vitro fertilisation. Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born on 25 July 1978. Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the development of in vitro fertilisation; Steptoe was not eligible for consideration because the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously.

Carl Wood

Edwin Carlyle "Carl" Wood,, FRANZCOG was a prominent Australian gynaecologist, best known for his pioneering work developing and commercialising the technique of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). He gained considerable international and national attention for his wide-ranging contributions in the field of women's health over a period of almost 50 years, although not all of it was positive given the controversial nature of many of his endeavours.

Robert Edwards (physiologist) English physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine and in-vitro fertilisation

Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards was a British physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine, and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in particular. Along with the surgeon Patrick Steptoe, and the nurse Jean Purdy, Edwards successfully pioneered conception through IVF, which led to the birth of Louise Brown on 25 July 1978. They founded the first IVF programme for infertile patients and trained other scientists in their techniques. Edwards was the founding editor-in-chief of Human Reproduction in 1986. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the development of in vitro fertilization".

Ian Johnston was one of the true pioneers of reproductive medicine in Australia. He was a primary contributor to the development of human IVF in Melbourne, Australia. He was the Head of the Reproductive Biology Unit at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne and was the founding President and Honorary Life Member of The Fertility Society of Australia. Ian was known as the 'founding father of IVF in Australia'

Sammy Lee was an expert on fertility and in vitro fertilisation

Peter Brinsden

Peter Robert Brinsden MBBS, MRCS, LRCP, FRCOG is known for the treatment of infertility in couples. From 1989 to 2006 he was the medical director of Bourn Hall Clinic in the UK, a leading centre for the treatment of fertility problems, and where about 6,000 babies have been conceived using IVF and other assisted conception treatments.

Bourn Hall Clinic Hospital in Cambridgeshire, England

Bourn Hall Clinic in Bourn, Cambridgeshire, England, is a centre for the treatment of infertility. The original building, Bourn Hall, is about 400 years old. Since becoming a medical centre, it has been greatly extended.

Bourn Human settlement in England

Bourn is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. Surrounding villages include Caxton, Eltisley and Cambourne. It is 8 miles (12 km) from the county town of Cambridge. The population of the parish was 1,015 people at the time of the 2011 census.

Geeta Nargund is a visiting professor, medical doctor, trainer, health writer, commentator, and pioneer in the field of natural and mild IVF and Advanced Technology in Reproductive Medicine.

Jacques Cohen is a Dutch embryologist based in New York, U.S. He is currently Director at Reprogenetics LLC, Laboratory Director at ART Institute of Washington at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and Scientific Director of R & D at IVF-online.

The history of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) goes back more than half a century. In 1959 the first birth in a nonhuman mammal resulting from IVF occurred, and in 1978 the world's first baby conceived by IVF was born. As medicine advanced, IVF was transformed from natural research to a stimulated clinical treatment. There have been many refinements in the IVF process, and today millions of births have occurred with the help of IVF all over the world.

Howard W. Jones American physician (1910-2015)

Howard Wilbur Jones, Jr. was an American gynecological surgeon and in vitro fertilization (IVF) specialist. Jones and his wife, Georgeanna Seegar Jones, were two of the earliest reproductive medicine specialists in the United States. They established the reproductive medicine center that was responsible for the birth of the first IVF baby in the U.S. He wrote articles on the beginning of human personhood and testified before legislators on the same subject. He was one of the early physicians to perform sex reassignment surgeries.

Simon Fishel

Simon Fishel is an English physiologist, biochemist and pioneering in vitro fertilisation (IVF) specialist.

Martin Hume Johnson

Martin Hume Johnson is emeritus professor of Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience (PDN) at the University of Cambridge.

Jean Purdy English nurse

Jean Marian Purdy was a British nurse and embryologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Purdy was responsible with Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe for developing in vitro fertilisation. Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born on 25 July 1978, and Purdy was the first to see the embryonic cells dividing. Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the development of in vitro fertilisation; however, because the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously, neither Purdy nor Steptoe were eligible for consideration. Purdy was a co-founder of the Bourn Hall Clinic but her role there and in the development of IVF was ignored for 30 years.

Elliot Philipp British obstetrician and gynaecologist

Elliot Philipp was a British gynaecologist and obstetrician who worked with Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards in developing in-vitro fertilisation and authored The Technique of Sex (1939) with the assistance of Sigmund Freud.

Norbert Gleicher, is an American obstetrician-gynecologist active in obstetrical practice, in vitro fertilization, reproductive endocrinology, and reproductive immunology. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and currently serves as president, medical director and chief scientist of the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York City, a clinical fertility center that he founded in 1981. Simultaneously, he is President of the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, a not-for-profit research foundation. Gleicher maintains additional academic appointments at Rockefeller University, and Medical University of Vienna.

Margaret Puxon English gynaecologist, obstetrician and barrister

Christine Margaret Puxon was an English barrister, gynaecologist and obstetrician. She began her career as a gynaecologist and obstetrician and later took up law, specialising in family law and medical negligence.

References

  1. 1 2 David K Gardner; Ariel Weissman; Colin M Howles; Zeev Shoham. Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques: Laboratory and Clinical Perspectives. pp. 10–12.
  2. Martin Hutchinson (24 July 2003). "'I helped deliver Louise'". BBC News . Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  3. "IVF pioneer opens fertility unit". BBC News. 16 July 2006. Retrieved 6 May 2019.

Publications

  1. IN VITRO FERTILISATION - Past Present Future Edited by S. Fishel and E. M. Symonds (IRL Press 1986)