Infertility treatments have made monumental strides in recent years with the advent of IVF, egg donation and surrogacy. But this week an even greater step was taken to treat infertile women. A formerly sterile woman has given birth to the first ever ovary transplant baby. The British woman suffered from ovary failure at age 15 and went through early menopause, which caused her infertility. The 38-year-old woman received a full ovary transplant from her twin sister and is expected to give birth this week.
More than 100,000 women in the UK alone suffer from infertility due in part to chemotherapy, radiotherapy and early menopause leaving their chances of pregnancy dismal to say the least. This groundbreaking new surgery may give these women hope for motherhood. The Sunday New York Times reported, “Unlike IVF, the conventional infertility treatment, an ovary transplant not only allows a woman to conceive “naturally” but also restores hormone levels in women who have suffered an early menopause.” Nearly three months post-surgery women who have had this procedure done, witnessed their first ovulations in years. And soon after one year transplant women are told they may be able to conceive. For women unable to bear children, this breakthrough is revolutionary.
