Worlds’ first ovary transplant baby due this week

London, November 10: A 38-year-old woman from London, who was declared sterile at 15 years, is due to give birth this week after receiving an ovary transplant donated by her identical twin sister. This is the world's first successful full ovary transplant.

The woman underwent an early menopause while still a teenager after her ovaries ceased to function. But in a revolutionary procedure she received a new ovary transplanted from her twin sister, who has two children. Just after a year of transplant she became pregnant, and is due to give birth this week.

Dr. Sherman J. Silber, M.D., and his colleagues from the Infertility Centre of St Louis in Missouri, U.S., carried out the whole ovary transplant early last year using keyhole surgery. In just 90 days the woman began to ovulate normally and within five months her hormonesdefine were at normal levels.

The microsurgery pioneer, Dr. Silber said, "Reconnecting these blood vessels deep inside the pelvis can be a tactical challenge. The ovarian arterydefine is less than a third of a millimetre in diameter, in fact so small many gynaecologists have never seen it."

As the ovary comes from her identical twins the organ had lower chances of being rejected by the body. But the ovary transplants from close relatives such as non-identical twins would have to be accompanied by heavy doses of immune systemdefine suppressant drugs to prevent rejection of the organ.

Dr Silber will discuss the operation at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, in San Francisco today. He said the surgery was very delicate.

The latest technique gives hope to hundreds of thousands of infertile women as well as women who suffer from cancerdefine, osteoporosis etc and are desperate for a baby.

Dr. Silber also conducted the world's first micro-surgical vasectomy reversal as well as the first testicle transplant in males. He developed, along with his team, the TESE-ICSI technique for retrieving a few sperm from hopelessly sterile males who appear to be creating no sperm and thereby help achieve normal pregnancy rates.