Scientists pave way for women to bear children later in life

AN AUSTRIAN scientist has managed to remove and freeze ovaries in sheep and successfully replace them, in a move he says could allow women to have children into their 60s and 70s.

One of the sheep was later able to reproduce a lamb called Henry, born without complications.

Professor Johannes Huber, a gynaecologist at Vienna’s General Hospital, said the technique was a step forward from experiments where only a section of the ovary was removed and later replaced, and meant women would regain their menstrual cycle as well.

Prof Huber removed the ovaries of eight sheep and stored them at -160ºC for four months before replacing them. The organs were filled with anti-freezing chemicals to protect them during the freezing process.

The gynaecologist told a symposium in Vienna called Aging is Life that the method could help cancer patients have children later in life, as well as help older women have children.

Women with cancer often have trouble getting pregnant later because of damage caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Using the new method, doctors could freeze their ovaries and replace them after the treatment. A baby was born in Belgium last year using a similar method.

Prof Martin Imhof, from the research team, said: “However, the mother only had two thirds of the ovary removed and only a small sliver was re-implanted.

“While this method enabled a successful pregnancy, it would not ensure normal hormonal activity in the long run,” he said.

“But if a woman receives a whole ovary again, there is a good chance that she will experience a normal cycle with ovulation for a number of years.”

The Vienna General Hospital stores 60 frozen ovaries taken from women with cancer. They can be implanted back into the women up to five or six years after being removed.

“We are reluctant to do an implant on humans,” Dr Huber said. “We first need to do more research to make sure that we don’t implant hidden cancer cells with the ovaries.”

Prof Huber is against using the method to help pensioners have children.

However, he said: “In other countries, they don’t have the same scruples.”