A Tempe fertility treatment center announced Tuesday that scientists have achieved the first successful in vitro fertilization pregnancy in Arizona using frozen human eggs.
The eggs were frozen, then later thawed, fertilized, and transferred into the uterus of the patient, who is now two months pregnant.
Fertility Treatment Center in the ASU Research Park in Tempe used a freezing device invented by embryologist Jun Tao to perform the procedure.
"This technology has been evolving for several years and we have proceeded cautiously, following scientific standards and guidelines set forth by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine", said H. Randall Craig, MD, Medical Director at FTC. "To achieve a viable, ongoing pregnancy with our first case is very encouraging."
Human sperm and embryos have been successfully frozen for several decades, but human eggs did not survive freezing until recently.
The freezing technique, known as vitrification, preserves a woman's eggs after they have been removed from her ovaries. They can be stored indefinitely, and then thawed for fertilization and implantation into the uterus.
Egg freezing allows women to undergo cancer treatments, or other medical procedures. Dr. Craig says. "Egg freezing offers hope that they can have children after successful cancer therapy."
It also benefit a significant number of women who delay childbearing to pursue professional careers.
They can freeze their eggs at a younger age in order to optimize their chance for future pregnancy. "Before long, freezing and storing a college student's eggs may be the ideal graduation gift", according to Dr. Craig.
