Babies after ovarian transplant

LONDON - A WOMAN has given birth to two children after her fertility was restored using transplants of ovarian tissue, the first time the complex treatment has produced two babies from separate pregnancies.

Claus Yding Andersen, the Danish doctor who treated the woman, said the case showed how this method of storing ovarian tissue was a valid way of preserving fertility and should encourage the technique to be used more in girls and young women facing treatment that may damage their ovaries.

This is the first time in the world that a woman has had two children from separate pregnancies as a result of transplanting frozen and thawed ovarian tissue,' said Dr. Andersen, who reported the case in the Human Reproduction medical journal.

Dr. Andersen's patient, Danish woman Stinne Holm Bergholdt, had ovarian tissue removed and frozen during treatment for cancer, and then restored once she was cured. She gave birth to a girl in Feb 2007 after receiving fertility treatment. She then conceived naturally and gave birth to another girl in Sept 2008.


Nine children have been born worldwide as a result of transplanting frozen and thawed ovarian tissue. Three (including Ms Bergholdt's two) were born in Denmark after treatment carried out by Dr. Andersen, who is Professor of Human Reproductive Physiology at the University Hospital of Copenhagen.

Gillian Lockwood, medical director of Midland Fertility Services in central England and Pete Braude, head of women's health at King's College London, both said the key to the success of this kind of treatment was the woman's age. Dr. Braude said the fact that Ms Bergholdt was 27 when her treatment began had boosted her chances. -- REUTERS