Following a transplant with her own ovarian tissue, a 27-year-old woman, Gwenola, recently became a mother at the Nantes Medical Center in France.
Since age 18, Gwenola has suffered from lymphoma. Given that the chemotherapy is toxic to the ovaries, she had her ovarian tissue cryopreserved at the age of 20, prior to re-initiating chemotherapy, in an attempt to preserve her fertility.
According to the Medical Center in Nantes “We then suggested that she participate in the national clinical trial of ovarian transplants known as “DATOR”, (Development of ovarian tissue auto transplants to restore ovarian function). The trial is headed by the Medical Center in Besançon, which coordinates ovarian cortex transplants in France and compiles the resulting data.”
Following her chemotherapy, Gwenola experienced an early onset of menopause, as expected. Nevertheless, her fertility was quickly restored following the ovarian transplant: her menstruation cycle began just 5 months after her operation, she was pregnant a year later, and now she has a healthy 4-month-old baby.
In France, the first successful ovarian transplant was performed at the Medical Center in Besançon, in 2009.
