Grace MacDonald
ivf pioneer
40 over 40
February 2026
It's no exaggeration to say that Grace MacDonald changed my life.
Almost 50 years ago, Grace was one of the many brave women who signed up to revolutionary and unproven fertility treatment and became the second woman in the world to give birth to a baby through IVF and the first to have a baby boy.
She was pregnant at the same time as Lesley Brown who gave birth to the first IVF baby, Louise, but it was Grace's pregnancy and the birth of baby Alastair, that proved that the treatment wasn't a one off and actually worked.
As the mum to an IVF son I can not thank Grace and the women in the self named Ovum Club enough for paving the way for women like me to become mothers. IVF is a gruelling experience with no guarantees at the end. But at least women like me who embark on this journey today know what their chances are and know that millions of women have had success around the world. Grace didn't.
I am absolutely over the moon that Grace agreed to be in the 40 OVER 40 project and meeting her will remain one of the highlights of my life.
During our chat Grace told me that it was pure chance that she found out about the IVF trials. She was at a friend's house for dinner who worked in the medical profession when she spotted a copy of the Lancet lying on the coffee table. It had an article about a pioneering fertility trial and she took it to her gynaecologist to ask if he thought she should ask to take part. Not only did he agree, but he said he would also send a letter on her behalf. She couldn't believe her luck when she was accepted onto the programme.
Grace and the other women taking part in the trials were sworn to secrecy, even from each other and their extended families. In fact, Grace's mum had started to worry that she was gravely ill due to the number of doctors appointments she was going to. Thankfully the women soon came to realise they were taking part in the same trials and became a huge source of comfort to each other.
Grace told me there was a lot of negativity and scepticism floating around about the experiments especially in the press, and so when she became pregnant she had to keep it very quiet. This sadly didn't stop a journalist knocking on her door one day and telling her she was the second person to be pregnant through the treatment. At that stage she didn't even know that Lesley Brown was pregnant with the first, such was the secrecy.
Meeting Grace was such an honour. She does not see herself as any kind of hero, but she is to me. She didn't feel brave when she put her name forward, she said she would have done anything to have a baby. I know what that feels like, but to me she was very courageous. This was unchartered waters, a medical experiment and no one knew what the potential pitfalls or side effects would be.
She got her miracle baby Alastair, and because of her, I got mine too.
Thank you Grace.
Thank you Grace for taking part in the 40 OVER 40 project.
Don't forget to check out my podcast Dear Hormones if you fancy a bit of a laugh about all the things our hormones do to us. 'Blame it on the hormones' has become my new mantra!
