Woman without Ovaries Gets Pregnant
A medical team in the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona managed to get a 20-year-old woman without ovaries pregnant. The patient had her ovaries removed ten years ago after several tumors were detected.
Doctor Justo Callejo, responsible of the gynecology department of Joan de Déu stated, “This is the first case in the world on which a woman without ovaries will have a child.” The doctor informed that when the patient was 10 years her left ovary had to be removed. However, due to the uncommon cancer, both of her ovaries were removed. Doctors froze the undamaged ovary so that she could have a child in the future.
Doctors at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital added to the frozen tissue a series of factors for its growth. Many samples were obtained from the blood of the patient. After fourth months the patient showed the first symptoms of ovarian activity when she menstruated. After this the medical team started the process of fertilization in vitro that successfully ended with the pregnancy of the woman. (AV)