Canada’s first test tube baby becomes a dad

When Colin Rankin and his twin brother, Gregory, were born on March 25, 1982, their arrivals made national headlines.

They were Canada's first test tube babies — only the seventh and eighth in the world — and the first pair to be born through in vitro fertilization in North America.

Their births helped pave the way for making IVF available to Canadian couples unable to conceive naturally.

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"I had my 15 minutes of fame when I was born," Colin Rankin told the London Free Press on Monday.

On Tuesday, Rankin became a father — the old-fashioned way. His wife, Sarah, gave birth to a 7-pound, 12-ounce baby boy named Clark Wilson Rankin.

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Full-circle moment: The attending doctor remembered writing a report about the Rankin twins as a Grade-8 student.

Rankin, who, like his wife, teaches children with special needs, understands why he was singled out at birth, but believes every new life is reason to celebrate.

"Every birth is a bit of a miracle," Rankin said the day before his son was born.