Clinic’s first Frozen embryo baby celebrates 18th birthday

Issue Date: 29 January 2009

Michael celebrates his 18th birthday milestone

Midland Fertility Services (MFS) helped a very special young adult celebrate his 18th birthday. Michael Robinson of Wolverhampton was the fertility clinic’s first ‘frostie’ baby born from a frozen embryo on 30 January 1991.

He and his father Howard Robinson returned to the unit in Aldridge to mark the event and to meet some of the staff, including director of nursing services, Heidi Birch, who was part of the team who treated Howard and his wife Karen during their IVF treatment, from 1989 to 1990.

Karen (52), who owns The Cutting Room hair salon in Willenhall and Howard (54), who runs a roofing business, started IVF treatment at MFS when the world’s first test-tube baby was only 13 years old. “It was a new science back then but we knew that it would be the only way I could have a baby,” said Karen.

“At the time, IVF wasn’t available on the NHS and so we used about £2,500 of our savings to pay for our treatment, although our GP helped us by funding our drugs,” said Karen.

Karen and Howard’s first IVF treatment cycle resulted in a negative pregnancy test. But she responded better well to the fertility drugs in her second cycle resulting in more embryos - six of which were of good enough quality to freeze.

The couple was delighted when two weeks after transfer, a test showed that Karen was pregnant, but this turned to disappointment a few weeks later when she had an early miscarriage.

However they were reassured that they could try to conceive again with some of the six embryos which scientists at MFS had frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196°C since they had been created two months earlier.

“The miscarriage was awful, but at least I knew I could get pregnant and so we had to be positive when we tried again with the frozen embryos,” said Karen. “It was quite different not having to do any of the drugs and exciting because we knew it was a procedure that was very new.”

Three of the embryos were thawed and transferred back into Karen’s uterus in May 1990 and two weeks later a test confirmed that she was pregnant. An early scan a couple of weeks later showed a single strong heartbeat.

Michael was born two days early on 30 January 1991, weighing 7lbs 11oz in New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton.

“Michael is a real ‘milestone baby’ in the history of MFS and we send him and his parents many congratulations on his special birthday,” said Heidi Birch. “Since his birth more than 800 other babies have been born from thawed/frozen embryos at MFS, often saving their parents the cost and trouble of having to undergo another full treatment cycle.

“At 38% MFS’ current success rate for frozen embryo transfers is almost as good as the clinical pregnancy rate of 40% for fresh embryo transfers for women up to the age of 38.”

“Michael is a fabulous son and has always been worth all the heartache we experienced trying to have him,” said Karen. “Curiously, although he spent a couple of months as frozen embryo, he doesn’t like the cold at all ” although he’s very good at ice-skating!

“Without MFS we would never have had Michael and he’s made my life complete.”

Michael, who is studying hair dressing at the Metro College in Wolverhampton, will celebrate his 18th birthday with a fancy dress party for 150 friends and family.

ends

MFS was established in 1987 and is licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to offer a range of fertility treatments and procedures including IVF, ICSI, egg donation, egg and embryo freezing and sperm recovery. In May 2002 the UK’s first ‘frozen egg’ baby was born following treatment at MFS. In September 2005, the UK’s first twins were born from ‘frozen eggs’ fertility treatment at MFS, followed by the first ‘frozen egg’ boy in December 2005. In April 2006 the clinic’s first twins were born following the mother’s treatment with Vi4gr4 as part of her fertility treatment at MFS. In early 2008, the 4,000th baby was born after treatment at MFS and the clinic celebrated its 21st anniversary in June 2008. Based in Aldridge, West Midlands, MFS treats both private and NHS patients.