The first infant has been conceived in Canada using a new fertility treatment called in vitro maturation -- in which a woman's eggs are removed from her ovaries and are matured in a laboratory, frozen and later fertilized -- researchers announced on Monday at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon, France, Reuters reports (Hirschler, Reuters, 7/2). Hananel Holzer of McGill Reproductive Center in Montreal and colleagues enrolled 20 infertile women to receive IVM treatments, which has resulted in one birth and three additional pregnancies.

The average age of the women in the study was about 30, and all of them had been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome -- a hormonal disorder that can threaten fertility and affects about 10% of women of reproductive age, Agence France-Presse reports. According to ESHRE, the researchers collected a total of 296 eggs from the women, of which 290 were immature. The eggs were matured in a laboratory for 24 to 48 hours, and were then frozen for several months and thawed before fertilization.

Of the eggs frozen, 148 survived the thawing process and were fertilized by a technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (Agence France-Presse, 7/2). Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is a process in which a single sperm is placed into an egg using a syringe and is used when a man has a low semen count or poor sperm quality (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/24/05). Sixty-four embryos were then transferred to the women, who received multiple embryos to increase the chance of a successful pregnancy.

"Until now, it was not known whether (human eggs) collected from unstimulated ovaries, matured in vitro and then vitrified could survive thawing, be fertilized successfully and result in a viable pregnancy after embryo transfer," Holzer said. He added, "We have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to do this, and so far, we have achieved four successful pregnancies, one of which has resulted in a live birth." Holzer said that the research is still in its early stages and has not been proven in cancer patients (Agence France-Presse, 7/2).

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According to Reuters, cancer patients likely would be the "main beneficiaries" of a successful IVM procedure because they often do not have time to take fertility drugs before undergoing cancer treatment, which could cause infertility. Fertility drugs are necessary for in vitro fertilization treatments.

"If this works in cancer patients, it might ultimately be possible to do this in all women that undergo [in vitro fertilization] or assisted reproduction because then you don't need to bother them with hormones," Joep Geraedts, ESHRE's chair elect, said, adding that new, large-scale clinical trials testing the procedure are needed (Reuters, 7/2).

"These pregnancies are an exciting step," Laurence Shaw, spokesperson for the British Fertility Society, said, adding, "However, the pregnancy rate is very low and therefore large numbers of eggs would be needed." According to Shaw, the treatment is suitable for women with fertility problems linked to conditions such as PCOS or cancer but not for women merely wanting to postpone having a family (Roberts, BBC News, 7/2).