World's First Baby Born After A Successful Ovary Transplant

This four-day-old baby Maja dozing peacefully in her mother's arm is the first baby in the world born as a result of ovary transplant.

Susanne, the 39-years-old who went through early menopause received an ovary by her identical twin sister. A year after the transplant she became pregnant with Maja.

Maja is named after the Roman goddess of fertility. Now the baby has become a hope for the millions who could benefit from the same procedure.

Susanne was rendered infertile when her ovaries failed at the age of 15, causing her to suffer from early menopause. Susanne said "Being a mother at last is an indesirable feeling. It's been hard to take my eyes off her since she was born."

She said that being the first woman in the world to give birth after a whole ovary transplant hasn't sunk in yet, but she's very grateful to the doctors who enabled this to happen and to her sister, of course.
"I'm happy to be sharing my story with the world to give other women hope who might have similar problems"

It was reported that she did not actually intend to become pregnant, instead hoping that the transplanted ovary from her identical twin could relieve the symptoms of her early menopause and restore her periods. Susanne was also suffering from osteoporosis and one reason for the transplant was to halt it advance further. After the transplant Susanne began ovulating naturally for the first time in her life.

This successful treatment will not only benefit the women suffering from early menopause but it will also help the women who have received chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment. They could now freeze an ovary before beginning the treatment.

The British Fertility Society supports the use of ovary transplantation, but only in cases in which fertility is threatened by impending radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatment.

Mr Laurence Shaw, a consultant in reproductive medicine at the London Bridge Fertility Centre, in London, said that while the removal of eggs for storage in these circumstances could delay treatment, as hormone treatment was needed to mature egg follicles for harvesting, ovary removal could be carried out immediately.

However, most younger women whose ovaries fail would have little or no warning of this in time to store their own ovary, and no identical twin to supply a replacement, he said.

He said: "As a fellow surgeon, I'm awestruck by the way they have transplanted a very vulnerable organ and got it to function like that. But in terms of delaying motherhood, there are other techniques, such as egg freezing, which are likely to be more appropriate.

"I would have thought that the long-term freeze-storing of an ovary would cause as much harm as the deterioration due to age itself."