Patrick Christopher Steptoe

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRS (9 June 1913 – 21 March 1988) was an English

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...

and a pioneer of

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards and the nurse

Jean Purdy Jean Marian Purdy (25 April 1945 – 16 March 1985) 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 B ...

for developing

in vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...

Louise Joy Brown Louise Joy Brown (born 25 July 1978) 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 "t ...

, the first

test-tube baby In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...

, was born on 25 July 1978. Edwards was awarded the 2010

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

for his work on the development of in vitro fertilisation; Steptoe and Purdy were not eligible for consideration because the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously.

Education

Born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Steptoe was educated at The Grammar School,

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

(since 1968 the comprehensive

Henry Box School The Henry Box School is a secondary school with academy status located in Witney in Oxfordshire, England. The school has a catchment area of the town of Witney and many surrounding villages such as Ducklington and Aston. It has approximately 1 ...

) in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. He went to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and graduated from St George's Hospital Medical School,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1939. He served in the Royal Navy from 1939–1946 and attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander. From 1947 to 1949 he was chief assistant in obstetrics and gynaecology at

St. George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

, then senior registrar at the

Whittington Hospital Whittington Hospital is a district general and teaching hospital of UCL Medical School and Middlesex University School of Health and Social Sciences. Located in Upper Holloway, it is managed by Whittington Health NHS Trust, operating as Whitting ...

(formerly known as Highgate Hospital) and obtained his FRCS(Ed) in 1950. His chief at Highgate, Kathleen Harding, was credited by Steptoe as teaching him a great deal about the management of infertility.

Laparoscopy pioneer

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he studied

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and, in 1951 he started to work at the Oldham & District General Hospital. From

Raoul Palmer Raoul Albert Charles Palmer FRCOG (29 August 1904, Paris – 5 July 1985), known as A.C. Palmer, was a French gynecologist and pioneer in gynecologic laparoscopy. Palmer was born in Paris. His parents, Fritjof Palmer and Signe, née Garling, were ...

he learned the technique of

laparoscopy Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

and promoted its usefulness. In 1967 he published ''Laparoscopy in Gynaecology''. Subsequently, Robert Edwards, a physiologist from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, contacted him and got him interested to collaborate in the development of ''in vitro'' fertilization.

Work with Edwards

Steptoe became the Director of the Centre for Human Reproduction,

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

, in 1969. Using laparoscopy, he collected the

ova , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

from volunteering infertile women who saw his place as their last hope to achieve a pregnancy. Edwards and

provided the laboratory expertise. During this time they had to endure criticism and hostility to their work. Finally, in 1978, the birth of Louise Brown changed everything. Although he encountered further criticism, other clinics were able to follow the lead and patients responded. To accommodate the increased patient number and train specialists, he, Purdy, and Edwards founded the

Bourn Hall Clinic 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. History Bourn Hall C ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

in 1980 of which Steptoe was a Medical Director until his death.

Awards and honours

In 1979, Steptoe received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

. In 1987, he was made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), just a week after the 1,000th test-tube baby, conceived with his help, was born. Steptoe was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in March 1987 His nomination reads: A plaque was unveiled at the Bourn Hall Clinic in July 2013 by

Louise Brown Louise Joy Brown (born 25 July 1978) 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 "t ...

and Alastair MacDonald – the world's first IVF baby boy – commemorating Steptoe and Edwards. Steptoe is also commemorated with a plaque at the Maternity Ward at the Royal Oldham Hospital, and at 52 West End, Witney. Steptoe is buried in Bourn, St Helena and St Mary Churchyard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steptoe, Patrick Christopher 1913 births 1988 deaths Alumni of King's College London Alumni of St George's, University of London 20th-century English medical doctors British gynaecologists In vitro fertilisation Fellows of the Royal Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Witney Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War II Military personnel from Oxfordshire Burials in Cambridgeshire