Brenna Whitnall's mother is grateful that 32 years ago, Robert Edwards pioneered a science that would give her the choice to have a child.
In 1978, Dr Edwards was able to achieve the first test-tube conception of a baby that was successfully transferred to the mother and brought to term.
The Nobel Prize committee this week announced Dr Edwards would be awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his scientific endeavours. The award brings global recognition and a hefty monetary reward.
Brenna's mother, Deanne Whitnall, said, ''Every IVF parent would like to say thank you to Dr Edwards ... Not just for giving us the precious gift of a child but for giving us choice.
''Because of Dr Edwards, many infertile couples have been given the same choice regular people have whether or not to have a child.''
Brenna, 17, also expressed gratitude to Dr Edwards. When asked what she would say to him, she had just two words, ''Thank you.''
IVF was partially pioneered in Australia, thanks to the work of researchers at Melbourne's Monash University. The procedure has been available in Canberra since 1986 and has resulted in the births of more than a thousand children, according to Martin Stafford-Bell of the Canberra Fertility Clinic.
For more on this story, including Dr Stafford-Bell's comments on technology breakthroughs in the field and a profile of Professor Edwards in Times2, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.
Source: The Canberra Times
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