A women's clinic in the city of Furukawa, Miyagi Prefecture, successfully completed a procedure whereby a woman gave birth after in vitro fertilization using a temporarily frozen egg, sources said Tuesday.
While roughly 30 cases of pregnancies and births involving eggs that had been frozen have been reported overseas, the Miyagi case is believed to be Japan's first successful procedure, experts said.
According to the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, there are no ethical problems stemming from the procedure, which was undertaken at Ladies' Clinic Kyono.
Clinic Director Koichi Kyono said the woman, a resident of the Tohoku region in her thirties, was diagnosed by another medical facility as having obstructed fallopian tubes. She then decided to undergo in vitro treatment at the clinic.