In Vitro Maturation Helps Women Conceive - 09/21/2007
Women who experience problems getting pregnant because of underdeveloped eggs in the ovaries may benefit from the use of in vitro maturation. In vitro maturation takes immature eggs from the ovaries during a woman’s menstrual cycle and allows the eggs to mature in a lab, before fertilizing the eggs and implanting them into the uterus. This process differs from in vitro fertilization (IVF), which involves subjecting the ovaries to a costly mix of hormones in hope that the ovaries may produce mature eggs.
"The advantage [of in vitro maturation] is having no ovarian stimulation," explained Dr. Hananel Holzer, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill University. It’s also much cheaper than the standard IVF.
Experts also believe in vitro maturation may prove beneficial for cancer patients. Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, often lead to infertility in both men and women. Women with cancer may not have enough time or be able to take fertility drugs to stimulate their ovaries before undergoing cancer treatment.
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