A Japanese woman in her 40s gave birth to a baby last year using her own frozen egg, an Osaka fertility clinic said Tuesday.
It is believed to be the first time in Japan that a healthy woman has chosen to use a preserved egg to conceive. There have been other cases where cancer patients have given birth using eggs that were frozen for later use to avoid the infertility risks that come with undergoing radiation therapy.
In February last year, an expert panel from the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) said it would not recommend that young and healthy women preserve their frozen eggs for future pregnancy, citing health risks for the women as well as the relatively low pregnancy rates for the procedure.