For the first time, a baby has been born to a mother whose ovaries were removed in childhood.
It is the first birth from ovarian tissue that was removed before puberty. The woman's identity has not been revealed. Her doctors in Belgium hailed the procedure as a "breakthrough."
"When they are diagnosed with diseases that require treatment that can destroy ovarian function, freezing ovarian tissue is the only available option for preserving their fertility," said Isabelle Demeestere, a gynecologist and lead researcher for the study, in a statement.
One of the woman's ovaries was removed and frozen when she was 13. A combination of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant was expected to leave her infertile.
About 10 years later, tissue from the frozen ovary was transplanted into the remaining, infertile one. Within five months, she began menstruating for the first time. She became pregnant two years later, at 27.
The healthy baby boy was born in November of 2014. The results of the case were published Wednesday in the journal Human Reproduction.
Gavin Stern is a national digital producer for the Scripps National Desk.
