Nigeria records first baby from frozen egg

LAGOS — Nigeria has recorded the first successful birth of a baby
conceived from frozen egg of a 44-year-old woman, who had
suffered infertility for eight years, making it the first in the country
and West Africa.
The
birth
and
conception of the baby, named Tiwatope, which is the 5001st in the
world, were carried out by Nigerian fertility specialists at The
Bridge Clinic, a Lagos-based fertility treatment centre, where the
mother had her eggs frozen using the vitrification (flash-freezing)
process.
Announcing the medical milestone, a fertility physician at the
Bridge Clinic, Lagos, Dr Emmanuel Owie, said the birth of the baby
on February 16, 2016, effectively puts Nigeria on the global map
as regards the practice of oocyte (egg) freezing or cryopreservation,
a new offering in the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) space.
He said prior to the birth of Tiwatope, the new practice seemed to
be an exclusive preserve of the developed world of Europe and
North America.
He said: “Tiwatope’s mother had her eggs frozen for two months,
using the vitrification, also known as flash-freezing, process. This
is the cutting edge technology in cryobiology, where the eggs or
oocytes of a woman is dehydrated and the water content is
replaced with 'anti-freeze' solution (cryoprotectants) before
freezing. This will prevent the formation of ice crystals which could
destroy the cell."
On her readiness for pregnancy, Owie noted: “We fertilized the eggs
using a standard technique known as intracytoplasmic sperm
injection (ICSI) to overcome the egg shell which normally gets
hardened with freezing.
“The fertilized egg was subsequently transferred into her womb,
resulting in the pregnancy with Tiwa. She had her antenatal care in
her family hospital and delivered the baby boy through Caesarian
Section.
“At The Bridge Clinic, we celebrate Tiwa’s birth as it is a further
demonstration of our coming of age in the practice of assisted
reproductive technology. It is a show of the sum of our strengths —
our people, our process and our infrastructure. It demonstrates our
commitment to global best practices which ensures that our
offerings are in tandem with what is obtainable in the developed
world, both in variety and in quality.”
Recommendation
Noting that the baby and his mother are in good health, Owie said
egg freezing was particularly recommended for women diagnosed
with cancer, who may lose their fertility during chemotherapy;
women with a family history of early menopause; women with
objections to storing frozen embryos for religious and/or moral
reasons; and women who want to delay child-bearing in order to
pursue some personal goals.
He said: “This offering is being delivered to many women in the
developed world and is now being offered in Nigeria at a cost more
affordable than what is obtained abroad. We encourage women who
need this service to come up and have their eggs cryopreserved.”
Also speaking, Coordinator, Corporate Communications & Customer
Client Relations, The Bridge Clinic, Dr Dayo Omogbehin, stated:
“We are the first in-vitro fertilization (IVF) centre in Nigeria to
achieve this success. It is great news for the family and fertility
health research in the country and world at large."
How it works
On how egg freezing works, Omogbehin said although sperm and
embryos had proved easy to freeze, the egg was the largest cell in
the human body and contains a large amount of water.
He said: “When frozen, ice crystals form that can destroy the cell.
We must dehydrate the egg and replace the water with an 'anti-
freeze' prior to freezing in order to prevent ice crystal formation.
“We also learned that because the shell of the egg hardens when
frozen, sperm must be injected with a needle to fertilize the egg
using a standard technique known as Intracytoplasmic Sperm
Injection."

Wao,dat awesome

Great