A new assisted reproduction technique known as in vitro maturation is set to reduce the risks associated with IVF.
In standard IVF, a woman's eggs are matured prior to collection, using hormonal drugs. They are then harvested via a trans-vaginal needle and mixed with sperm for fertilisation. At an appropriate stage of cell development, the embryo or embryos are then implanted into the womb.
With in vitro maturation (IVM), eggs are taken directly from the ovaries and matured in a laboratory for 48 hours instead of being allowed to mature in the woman's body. Once matured, they are then injected with sperm (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) and a few days later, transplanted to the uterus.
The Oxford Fertility Clinic was the first clinic in the UK to try out the new treatment which has resulted in the birth of healthy twins.
Twins Born Of New Technique
Britain's first twins born of IVM were delivered at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England. They were boy and girl (fraternal) twins. The boy weighed in at 6lbs, 11ozs and the girl weighed 5lbs, 14ozs. Mother and babies are all doing fine.
The Oxford clinic has performed 20 IVM cycles and of those, has achieved five pregnancies.
Universally, there have only been 400 babies born using IVM techniques, as the procedure is still so new.
What Are The Advantages To Having IVM?
IVM does not require hormonal fertility drugs since the eggs that are harvested are matured in a lab and don't have to be matured prior to collection. Eggs are taken directly from the ovaries, so it doesn't matter how many follicles a woman produces. This means that there are fewer risks of side effects to the woman and no risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHS), a potentially fatal condition in which the ovaries react sensitively to the drugs and produce many more eggs than is needed. This condition affects 1% of all female IVF patients.
It is a preferable treatment for women who are contraindicated to the fertility drugs and in those with polycystic ovarian syndrome - as PCOS sufferers cannot take stimulating drugs.
It's also a quicker treatment because there's no need for weeks of daily injections, and it's cheaper - less than half the cost of standard IVF.
What Are The Disadvantages To Having IVM?
The major disadvantage is that it's still experimental and doctors really don't know what the long term effects will be of using immature eggs and of maturing them outside of the human body. Researchers say, however, that they don't think there is anything dangerous about the treatment.
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