Foreword by Edward E. Wallach

Three decades have elapsed since the historic birth of Louise Brown in England. Thismomentous event, the introduction of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) as an approach to treating infertility, set the stage for hundreds of thousands of infertile couples who were ultimately to benefit from this exciting newtechnology.As with many medical/scientific breakthroughs, the initial process has evolved significantly fromits prototype which involved a natural cycle, less than ideal monitoring and laparoscopic egg recovery. During the 30 years since IVF became a reality, new drugs and techniques have developed for follicle stimulation. Ultrasonography has come of age and is now used for follicle monitoring, egg retrieval, embryo transfer and even detection of early pregnancy. New cryopreservation techniques have enabled embryo, egg and ovarian tissue storage. Further refinements include specialized growth media for embryos, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, transdermal surgical sperm retrieval, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, egg donation and use of surrogate or gestational carriers. Couples seeking correction of infertility problems have not been the only beneficiaries of our new reproductive technologies.