Experts have frozen the eggs of a 2-year-old girl, which was took place at the Oxford Fertility Clinic in Britain. Why they thought that this was necessary for such a young person is because she's actually part of a pioneering medical procedure. The toddler suffers from cancer and the fertility doctors are hoping that she could still become a mom when the right time comes.
The procedure, known as in-vitro maturation (IVM), was undertaken before the toddler had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments to fight off cancer. It is widely known that chemo and radiation, though proven to be successful in killing cancer cells, it could also damage other organs in the body, including eggs in women. Thus, the cancer treatments can reduce a female cancer patient's fertility chances, per Cancer.Org.
In the IVM procedure, doctors first harvested the 2-year-old girl's immature eggs, called oocytes. The oocytes were then taken into the laboratory to facilitate its incubation and maturity, before the eggs were eventually frozen, per The Sun.
Wat is In Vitro Maturation (IVM)? https://t.co/06eraTVoL3
— VVF (@IVFdokters) June 8, 2016
The procedure on the 2-year-old cancer patient was also done for adult patients and 15-year-old patients. However, whether or not this groundbreaking medical experiment will prove to be a success is still undetermined. Per New Zealand Herald, the frozen eggs can be used within 20 to 30 years, but it is still unclear if this will result in a successful pregnancy.
However, IVM is giving fertility experts new promise. "I am extremely hopeful and excited to think where we could be in 20 or 30 years when these patients want to start a family," said Oxford Fertility Clinic's medical director, Tim Child.
The fertility doctors believe that IVM will make fertility preservation all the more achievable in light of advancements in medicine and technology, and the treatment of diseases. The experts are expected to make their presentation at the annual gathering of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Helsinski, per Telegraph.
