In China, a young woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy last month after undergoing human umbilical cord stem cell transplantation to restore her fertility.
Three years ago, she had been diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency – a syndrome that affects over 1% of women of child-bearing age and which many doctors believe is incurable. The 35 year-old young woman underwent three stem cell transplantations from December 2015 onwards. She fell pregnant in May 2017. Since 2016, 23 patients have received the same treatment. Ovarian function was gradually restored in nine patients and two are pregnant. In 2014, Professor Dai Jianwu, Research Director, succeeded in implanting mesenchymatous stem cells in the damaged endometrium of a young woman who became pregnant four months later.
The scientist explained that these transplants have the advantage of being less painful than other treatments and require a shorter surgical procedure. He also stated that cell therapy costs less than in-vitro fertilisation.
Xinhua (01/02/2018)