World IVF Day 2026: 48 Years On, How Far IVF Has Come and What It Means for You

World IVF Day 2026 falls on 25 July, marking 48 years since the 1978 birth of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF baby, in Oldham. Since the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) began publishing figures in 1991, UK IVF success rates have climbed sharply: a patient aged under 35 years had a 9% chance of a live birth per embryo transferred that year, to 38% by 2024. Unfortunately, success rate with IVF treatment falls steeply with female partner's age today, from 38% for patients under 35 to less than 8% for patients aged 43 to 44, which is why age remains the single biggest factor in any individual's chances.

Key takeaways

• World IVF Day is marked on 25 July, the anniversary of Louise Brown's birth in 1978 at Oldham General Hospital, achieved by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and embryologist Jean Purdy.
• HFEA data shows the live birth rate per embryo transferred rising from 9% for patients aged under 35 in 1991 to 38% by 2024.
• UK IVF cycle volumes grew from around 69,000 in 2019 to about 77,000 in 2024, treating roughly 53,00 patients that year.
• Age remains the single biggest factor in individual IVF success, more than any specific clinic or unproven "add-on" treatment.

What Is World IVF Day 2026 and Why Is It Marked on 25 July?

World IVF Day 2026 is marked on 25 July because that is the date, in 1978, that Louise Brown was born at Oldham and District General Hospital, the world's first baby conceived through in vitro fertilisation. Her mother, Lesley Brown, had years of unexplained infertility linked to blocked fallopian tubes before undergoing the then-experimental procedure. The team behind it, obstetrician and gynaecologist, Mr Patrick Steptoe, physiologist Sir Robert Edwards and nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy, had spent a decade refining the technique. Sir Robert Edwards later received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work.

World IVF Day is now marked annually to recognise how far reproductive medicine has travelled since that first birth, and to raise awareness of the options available to people struggling to conceive today. For anyone weighing up whether to start IVF, the anniversary is a prompt to look past the history and ask a more practical question: what do the numbers actually say about success today, and how did they get there?

How Have UK IVF Success Rates Changed Since 1991?

UK IVF success rates have improved substantially since the HFEA started collecting national data in 1991, though the improvement is best understood age band by age band rather than as one single number. In 1991, a patient aged under 35 years to 37 had a live birth rate of 9% per embryo transferred. By 2016, the average across all patients had reached 21%, with patients under 35 achieving a 29% chance, according to the HFEA. By 2024, patients aged 18 to 34 specifically were achieving a 38% live birth rate per embryo transferred.

Treatment volumes have grown alongside those success rates. UK clinics carried out around 19,000 IVF cycles (fresh and frozen combined) in early 1990s, rising to over 78,000 in 2024, treating roughly 53,000 patients that year. Since 1991, UK clinics have performed over 1.3 million IVF cycles and more than 260,000 donor insemination cycles, resulting in an estimated 390,000 babies, according to HFEA figures. In 2024, over 21,00 babies were born in the UK from IVF. This means around 1 in 31 births in the UK in 2024 were from IVF (roughly one child in every classroom!) as compared to around 1 in 65 in 2004.

There has also been a significant reduction multiple births from IVF treatment from 28% in early 1990s to 3.2% in 2024 which is the lowest in the world. Multiple births is one of the complications of fertility treatment and pose an increased risk of health problems for patients and their babies, such as preterm birth, pre-eclampsia, and still birth, as well as neonatal and maternal death.

What drove the change was not one breakthrough but a steady accumulation of improvements in embryology and lab practice: better culture media, more precise hormone stimulation protocols, and a shift towards transferring a single, carefully selected embryo rather than several at once, which has also cut the health risks of multiple births. As of 2026, the biggest ongoing gains still tend to come from this kind of lab and protocol refinement, elective single embryo transfer and more selective use of additional treatments, rather than from the wider menu of unproven paid "add-ons" that are marketed alongside standard IVF.

What Do UK IVF Success Rates Look Like in 2026, by Age?

Age remains the strongest single predictor of IVF success, more than any specific clinic, protocol or add-on. The HFEA's fertility treatment 2024 figures, the most recent year with a full age-band breakdown published, put the live birth rate per embryo transferred (both fresh and frozen treatment combined) at:

Age band	Live birth rate per embryo transferred
18 to 34	38%
35 to 37	31%
38 to 39	24%
40 to 42	16%
43 to 44	8%

The pattern is consistent across HFEA's published data: chances are highest for patients under 35 and fall in each successive age band, largely because egg quality and quantity decline over time. That does not mean IVF becomes ineffective for older patients, but it does mean realistic, individualised expectations matter more than a single headline figure. These are averages across every UK licensed clinic and case mix; an individual patient's own chances depend on their diagnosis, ovarian reserve and treatment history, which is exactly what a fertility evaluation is designed to establish.

World IVF Day 2026: What Hasn't Changed About Starting Treatment

What the HFEA numbers cannot capture is the experience of going through treatment, and that is where continuity of care makes a practical difference. Seeing a different clinician at each appointment, as happens in some high-volume settings, means re-explaining your history repeatedly and losing the thread of a personalised plan. A small, consultant-led team that follows a patient from first consultation through to treatment can adjust a plan based on what it already knows about that patient, rather than starting from a generic protocol each time.

Age remains the strongest single predictor of IVF success, more than any specific clinic, protocol or add-on.

At JIVA Fertility, this continuity sits alongside a strictly evidence-based approach: only treatments backed by scientific research are offered, and outcomes are discussed honestly rather than oversold. Our consultant team, led by Dr Harish Bhandari, brings more than 25 years of combined experience in reproductive medicine and surgery, offered here as context, not a guarantee of any individual result. Patients in West Yorkshire should also understand what NHS-funded IVF cycles they may be entitled to locally before deciding whether or when to pursue private treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was the world's first IVF baby, and when was she born? Louise Brown was the world's first IVF baby. She was born on 25 July 1978 at Oldham and District General Hospital in Greater Manchester, following treatment developed by Mr Patrick Steptoe, Sir Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy.

Why is World IVF Day marked on 25 July? 25 July is Louise Brown's birthday, the date in 1978 that the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilisation was born. The fertility community marks the date each year to recognise the progress made in reproductive medicine since then.

What is the IVF success rate in the UK today? According to the HFEA's most recent figures with a full age-band breakdown, in 2024, the live birth rate per embryo transferred was 38% for patients aged 18 to 34, falling through 31% for 35 to 37, 24% for 38 to 39, 16% for 40 to 42, and 8% for patients aged 43 to 44. Individual chances vary with diagnosis and treatment history.

Has IVF become safer since the 1970s?Yes. Alongside higher success rates, UK clinics have moved from transferring several embryos at once towards single embryo transfer as standard practice, which has significantly cut the health risks linked to multiple births, alongside decades of refinement in laboratory technique and hormone stimulation protocols.

If you're weighing up whether now is the right time to start treatment, book a consultation with our consultant-led team for a personalised, evidence-based plan.

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