UK NEWS
FROZEN EGG BABY BRINGS FERTILITY HOPE
WINSTON: Important step forward
By Victoria Fletcher, Health Editor
THE first baby created from a frozen egg that was matured in a lab has been born.
The infant girl is said to be healthy, and another three women are pregnant following the same treatment.
The breakthrough will give hope to breast cancer patients and women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), for whom conventional IVF treatment can be too big a risk.
Scientists took undeveloped eggs from 20 PCOS sufferers, matured them in a lab and then froze them.
When eggs were defrosted and fertilised, they were still able to form into a healthy child.
Dr Hananel Holzer of the McGill Reproductive Centre in Montreal, Canada, who led the study, said the discovery would help those for whom IVF was not appropriate.
He added: “Eggs can be collected from the ovaries without hormonal stimulation and the immature eggs can be matured in the lab before being frozen.”
Under IVF treatment, women are given high doses of hormones. This can feed tumours in breast cancer patients, and for PCOS sufferers it over-stimulates the ovaries which can lead to a life-threatening condition.
Dr Holzer’s team were able to avoid giving hormones to the PCOS patients by maturing the undeveloped eggs in a lab until they were ripe to be fertilised.
For the past couple of years, some women with PCOS have used these mature eggs immediately. But many more women have wanted to freeze them for a few months instead.
The Canadian team found that of the 300 eggs that they had matured in the lab, almost 70 per cent survived the freezing process. However, of these only one in four women then fell pregnant. This compared with more than one in three women who fell pregnant using matured eggs that had not been frozen. Last night, breast cancer charities and UK scientists, including fertility expert Robert Winston, welcomed the findings.
Lord Winston said: “This is an important step forwards that could potentially help women with fertility issues, including those undergoing cancer treatment. But more work needs to be done.”
Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, added: “This could be a very significant step forward in developing an effective fertility preservation strategy for women and young girls who are diagnosed with cancer before they have had an opportunity to complete their families.”
Dr Sarah Rawlings, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer said: “New methods that may help women have children after breast cancer treatment are to be welcomed. We look forward to seeing how this study progresses.”
Around 20 per cent of breast cancers occur in women under the age of 50, and the majority of these are hormone sensitive.
Video 
"A SPRINKLING OF STARDUST"
03.07.07, 3:51pm
Its good to see there are somethings we can still do well in the UK; thanks to the life times dedication of people like professor Winston. This break through is something to celebrate..a sprinkling of stardust into the lives of these parents. They must be very happy.
Good luck to them!
• Posted by: TicToc • Report Comment
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