Baby girl born to world's first ovary transplant woman

Pioneer: Dr Sherman Silber, who carried out the procedure, says the ovary transplant woman gave birth to a baby girl today

A woman gave birth to a baby girl last night after undergoing the world's first successful full ovary transplant.

The birth in London was made possible by her identical twin sister donating an ovary.

Dr Sherman Silber, who performed the transplant, said last night: 'I just got a phone call a few hours ago from the mother's doctor telling me she had given birth to a girl weighing 7lb 15oz.

'I've been excited about this for some time as I've known from ultrasound tests that the baby was completely normal. Then when the baby was delivered it was an added thrill. There is a beating heart and a crying baby. It's all a thrill.'

The 39-year-old German-born mother, who is married to a Briton, was said to be 'overjoyed'.

She became infertile when her ovaries failed at the age of 15.

Her transplant opens the door to women putting off having children into their 40s and beyond, said Dr Silber.

He said having an ovary frozen for future use for social reasons was a 'realistic option' and could be a solution to fertility problems caused by delayed motherhood among career women.

Women who did this in their 20s could look forward to the best of all worlds and would have their own young eggs in storage that were superior to donor eggs.

'It's very realistic,' said Dr Silber, who addressed the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in San Francisco yesterday.

'Women can always have egg donation but this is so much nicer and more convenient if it's safe. A young ovary can be transplanted back at any time and it will extend fertility and delay the menopause. You could even wait until you were 47.'

Dr Silber added: 'The critical pay-off is the ability to remove the ovary and put it back again after storing it for ten to 20 years.'

Another advantage is that IVF is not needed once the ovary kicks in, just a 'happy healthy sex life', he said.

Dr Silber, who practises at the Infertility Centre of St Louis, Missouri, claimed transplants of ovaries - which contain a woman's stock of eggs - could be a solution to worldwide fertility problems.

Many benefits: In addition to pregnancy, ovary transplant patients benefit from the hormones produced by the new organ

He said: 'We are in the midst of an infertility epidemic. The real reason for the epidemic, which has become an enormous public problem, is that women have opportunities they did not before. They do not want to commit to relationships until they are sure it's the right one.

'People are waiting until they are older to get married, they want the degree, money and a flat. It's the modern way. It's not just England - in every society women are putting off childbearing.'



But his vision of the future was criticised by Norman Wells of Family and Youth Concern.

He warned: 'All too often children are regarded as consumer goods to be fitted in when it is most convenient for their mothers' careers, rather than as gifts to be loved and cherished.'

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: 'It's high time we prioritised the welfare of children over that of women. Fertility treatment is becoming a lifestyle choice showing women at their most selfish, putting their career above the welfare of their children.'

