Ovaries: Frozen, but Still Fertile

Sunday, Sept. 26, 2004
    • Tamara is a healthy 8-lb. baby girl with a guaranteed place in the history of infertility treatments. She is the first child born from ovarian tissue that was removed from her mother, frozen and transplanted back. The tissue was taken out when her mom was 25 and facing chemotherapy for cancer. Six years later, cancer free but infertile from the drugs, she had the tissue stitched back in — and got pregnant by natural means four months later. The breakthrough raises hope for the thousands of women who face sterilization each year from cancer treatments. If the procedure proves safe enough — a big if — it might also offer an option to healthy women who want to extend their fertile years a little longer.