Over a decade ago, a bone marrow transplant left a Belgian girl infertile. Now, a transplant of her own frozen ovarian tissue has helped her get pregnant and give birth to a healthy baby boy, Sky News reports.

The scientific breakthrough is likely to benefit other sick children who lose their fertility through cancer treatments.

“Freezing ovarian tissue is the only available option for preserving their fertility,” Dr Isabelle Demeestere, a fertility specialist at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, told media. The details of the transplant were published in Human Reproduction, a medical journal.

The patient, who suffered from sickle cell anemia, was 13 when her ovary was frozen and she had yet to start her period.

A decade later, four pieces of the frozen tissue were transplanted onto the patient’s remaining ovary at her request. Two years after the transplant, she was pregnant, Sky News reports

Doctors reportedly expect the woman’s ovary function to remain normal, allowing her to have more children in the future.

[Sky News]

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