Melbourne Doctors Make Ovarian Tissue Transplant History, Infertile Australian Woman Pregnant with Twins (VIDEOS)

(Source: Youtube/SMH)

An Australian team of doctors has helped an infertile woman get pregnant after an ovarian tissue transplant. It was a first in medical history and doctors said it the procedure was a major breakthrough in fertility treatment.

The Australian woman known only as Vali is currently 26 weeks pregnant with twins after she was previously treated for ovarian cancer. She was rendered infertile after receiving her treatment.

Experts from The Royal Women's Hospital and Melbourne IVF had teamed up to help the Australian woman grow egg follicles to create two healthy eggs after she had undergone ovarian tissue transplant.

Based on historical records, only one child has been born after a woman has had ovarian tissue transplant in Australia. On a global scale, less than 30 babies were born after the transplant. The recent procedure is different from what has been done before because this was the first time that a tissue has been transplanted to a different area of the body aside from its origin.

Due to the success of the procedure as proven by the pregnant Australian woman, The Royal Women's Hospital wants to establish an emergency centre and make it a facility for taking and storing tissue samples from women who have ovarian cancer which would lead to infertility when receiving treatment.

Monash IVF International Medical Director Gab Kovacs said the latest tissue transplant was very exciting. Dr Kovacs is the first to successfully perform an ovarian tissue transplant in Australia. He said the recent developments would help preserve a woman's fertility by taking ovarian tissue samples.

Kate Stern, the pregnant Australian woman's fertility specialist, said it took them years and performed almost daily tests to help the woman become pregnant. Ms Stern said they were all crying when Val finally became pregnant.

This proves that ovarian tissue can still function normally even if outside the woman's pelvis. Val has also been working with an oncologist to ensure that the transplanted ovarian tissues are free of cancer. The breakthrough in IVF (in-vitro fertilization) technology will give other cancer survivors hope.

When Val was successfully treated for ovarian cancer, a sample ovarian tissue has been taken from her in a keyhole surgery. Doctors froze the tissue and seven years later, proceeded to graft the tissues on the left and right sides of her abdomen. After only a few months, the tissues were found to be functioning normally. Along with a hormonal treatment, she was able to produced egg follicles and two single eggs.

Each year, there are more than 1,300 Australian women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.