In-vitro Baby Born from Immature Frozen Egg

On June second, the first baby conceived from an egg that was matured in the lab before undergoing in-vitro fertilization was born in Canada and is progressing normally. The mother, as well as three other women, became pregnant through a clinical trial at the McGill Reproductive Center in Montreal. The twenty women involved in the study had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can cause female interfertlity.

These findings were announced at the 23rd annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon, France. In the trial, after receiving a single hormone shot, women's immature eggs were collected. The doctors then matured the eggs in the lab and froze them.

At peak time in the women's menstrual cycle, the eggs were unfrozen, fertilized with the Father's sperm, and then implanted. Normally, women who undergo IVF have longer duration hormone treatments to mature the women's eggs while still in the ovaries. This new technique, with less exposure to hormones, may become useful for women with hormone-sensitive cancers.

Dr. Hanel Holzer, who led the research team, said that, "We have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible and, so far, we have achieved four successful pregnancies, one of which has resulted in a live birth. It has the potential to become one of the main options for fertility preservation." However, he also cautioned that in the initial stages patients have to be informed of the possibilities of these treatments without being given, false hope.