Shanghai's first test-tube triplets who were born on November 6 have been doing well over the past month and a half, and left the hospital for home this morning.

The infants, two girls and a boy, looked rosy and strong under the good care of the nurses at a hospital affiliated with the Shanghai Medical Sciences University.

The older girl now weighs 2,705 grams and the younger 2,700 grams, while the boy weighs 2,640 grams, compared with their weights of 1,485 grams, 1,525 grams and 1,310 grams at birth, respectively.

The mother of the triplets was unable to conceive, but successfully became pregnant after the using the test-tube method.

A heredity and sterility center in Shanghai jointly sponsored by China and the United States one year ago has already helped 316couples conceive via the test-tube method, with a success rate of 36 percent.

So far, 41 couples have had 52 children, including seven pairs of twins and two sets of triplets.

To reduce multiple births and increase the survival rate of test-tube babies, the center has begun to cut the number of transplanted embryos in their method. (Xinhua)