BERLIN, June 29, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Doctors at the Universite Catholique de Louvain have successfully transplanted ovary tissue into a previously infertile woman and helped her achieve pregnancy. The child, conceived naturally, is a girl and is expected at the beginning of October. The news was released at the Berlin meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). The patient, who is 32, was rendered infertile by treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Before undergoing chemotherapy, doctors removed some ovarian tissue which was replaced after her recovery. She is now 25 weeks pregnant.
Professor Jacques Donnez, who led the research, said, “It’s her child genetically, growing from her tissue, and she fell pregnant completely naturally.” Pro-life activists have often complained that the funding that could go to advancing such research much more often is allocated for immoral purposes such as embryo research and IVF. “It’s heartening,” said Gillian Long, Director of Research for Campaign Life Coalition. “I see this as a breakthrough for the moral application of medical assistance for infertility. If we had more of this kind of work going on, fewer lives would be lost to the IVF mills.” Doctors hope that such surgery can give hope to women rendered infertile by cancer and advancing age. However, doctors warned that the procedure should not be used as a ‘lifestyle choice.’
Significantly, the coverage of the breakthrough by the BBC called the child, who will not be born until October, a ‘baby,’ and not a fetus.
Read BBC coverage: https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3850381.stm ph