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Babies from frozen eggs
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THE world's first babies conceived from frozen eggs and sperm have been born in Singapore, raising hopes for couples both have fertility problems.
"For women, this means they can preserve fertility,'' Dr Cheng Li-chang, deputy chairman of the Thomson Medical Centre, told a news conference on Friday. "It gives hope to men who have very little sperm or none in the ejaculate."
Cheng said the recent birth of healthy twins followed in-vitro fertilization using frozen eggs and sperm from a couple who had no success starting a family due to medical complications on both sides.
It was also the first birth from frozen eggs in Singapore.
There have been only about 30 births from frozen eggs worldwide since the first successful case in Australia in 1986 because it is very difficult for frozen eggs to survive.
In January, Britain scrapped a ban on using frozen eggs in fertility treatment, opening the door to motherhood for women who need chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which can lead to infertility.
Freezing eggs to prevent them from aging can also be used by women wanting to delay having children.
Cheng said the hospital team decided to freeze both the eggs and sperm of the couple because of the fine timing required for fertilization.
The team had to surgically extract sperm from the testicles of the father, who had no sperm in his ejaculate. It took hours to find the active sperm and inject each into an egg, which has a life span of only 24 hours.
In the absence of clear guidelines for such scientific developments, he said the centre would consult the government every time the treatment was necessary for medical reasons.
(SD-Agencies)
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