Peter Brinsden was born in Peking, China in 1940. After attending schools in Canada, China, Hong Kong and England, he entered  King’s College, University of London in 1959, followed by St George’s Hospital, London, from where he qualified  MB BS in 1966. After serving as a Medical Officer in the Royal Navy between 1966 and 1982, he left the Navy in the rank of Surgeon Commander.

Peter Brinsden became a Consultant Gynaecologist in 1978, with his main interest in infertility. He served at Bourn Hall Clinic with Mr Steptoe in 1985 and then joined Professor Ian Craft as Deputy Medical Director of the Wellington Hospital IVF Unit, at that time the largest IVF Unit in the world, performing 2,500 IVF and GIFT cycles a year. He was appointed Medical Director of Bourn Hall Clinic, Cambridge, in December 1988, following the death of Mr Steptoe. His principle interests in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology are the treatment of male factor infertility, including spinal cord injured men, factors affecting implantation in ART, the treatment of older infertile women, and treatment  by embryo donation and IVF surrogacy.