Doctor Ruan Xiangyan and the mother who received ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation carry the healthy baby. Photo: Beijing Daily

A very special baby is in good health 45 days after her birth. She is the first baby in China conceived through natural pregnancy after her mother had part of her ovarian tissue frozen and re-transplanted.

This case shows that the cryopreservation and transplantation of ovarian tissue could restore fertility in patients who face iatrogenic premature ovary failure (POF) - a condition triggered by medical treatments or diagnostic procedures.

The mother surnamed Li was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in 2016. A bone marrow transplantation surgery was the only way to cure the disease at that time, but with 100 percent damage to her ovary. 

To save her fertility, Li had part of her ovarian tissue harvested and cryopreserved through minimally invasive surgery before her medical treatment, under the help of Doctor Ruan Xiangyan at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital.

After getting the ovarian tissue re-transplanted back into her body in 2018, Li finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl in August this year. Medical examinations on Thursday showed good health of the 45-day-old baby.

Li's case brings hopes to patients suffering from iatrogenic POF risks. With tens of thousands of eggs stored in the cryopreserved ovarian tissues, the technology of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation could help patients prolong fertility for 10 or even up to 30 years. 

It is estimated that there are millions of young women and children facing the risk of iatrogenic POF every year. And the cryopreservation and transplantation of ovarian tissue is the only way to preserve fertility for children and female patients in childbearing age who cannot delay chemotherapy treatment. 

As the person who brought the technology of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation to China, Ruan and her team established the first ovarian tissue cryopreservation bank in Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in 2012. It has so far cryopreserved for about 400 cases of ovarian tissue, among which the youngest patient is only 15 months old.

With 10 transplantation cases all successful, the application of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation in China has reached an internationally advanced level.