Female nurse who played crucial role in IVF ignored on plaque

Despite a senior colleague's protests, Jean Purdy's name was not included on memorial

The name of a female nurse and embryologist who played a crucial role in developing the world's first test-tube baby was excluded from a plaque honouring the pioneers of IVF despite objections from her colleagues, newly released letters reveal.

Jean Purdy was one of three scientists whose groundbreaking work led to the birth of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. Yet her central role was largely forgotten in the rush to praise her colleagues, Prof Sir Robert Edwards and the surgeon Patrick Steptoe.