Chance at motherhood for girls with blood disorders and cancers

Moza Al Matroushi’s successful pregnancy proves that young girls who must undergo aggressive treatment for cancers and blood disorders can still have a chance at motherhood, doctors have said.

While ovarian transplants have helped at least 60 women around the world have children over the last 12 years, Al Matroushi’s case is now proof that ovaries removed even before the girl reaches puberty can help restore fertility later on in life.

“Even though the ovary was frozen 14 years ago, in 2001, it helped restore her fertility after it was transplanted last year (2015). This is [happy news] for girls afflicted by diseases like thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia and childhood cancers. They can undergo the chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants to combat the illness, and hope to achieve a successful pregnancy later,” Dr Sara Matthews, consultant gynaecologist and fertility specialist at the Portland Hospital in London, told Gulf News.

Al Matroushi, who suffered from beta thalassaemia as a child, had one of her ovaries frozen at the age of nine, and then went on to receive a bone marrow transplant. The procedure, using tissue from her younger brother, cured her of the blood disorder. Thirteen years later, her remaining ovary was failing. She then underwent ovarian tissue transplantation and IVF, which resulted in a successful pregnancy and eventually, a healthy baby boy.

“Within three months of the ovarian tissue transplant, [Al Matroushi] went from being menopausal to having completely normal ovarian function and regular periods. This shows that even ovaries which had never been exposed to adult hormones can restore fertility in adult women,” Dr Matthews added.

Dr Helen Picton, head of reproduction and early development at the University of Leeds, told Gulf News that Al Matroushi was one of the very early cases of ovarian tissue freezing.

“This was an experimental procedure at the time, because no children had yet been born from transplanted ovarian tissue, let alone using ovarian tissue taken from a child. But her parents wanted to preserve her fertility,” Dr Picton said.

In fact, the first baby born after an ovarian tissue transplant was in 2004 in Belgium, three years after Al Matroushi’s ovarian tissue was frozen in England.

“The results are hugely encouraging because it is proof that pre-pubertal tissue freezing can allow for pregnancy. It offers a lot of hope to children who suffer from cancers and blood disorders, and receive treatment that might damage their ovarian reserves,” Dr Picton said.

“In fact, girls with non-cancerous blood disorders like thalassaemia are at an advantage. In their case, there is no risk that the transplanted ovarian tissue has any malignant cells that can reintroduce the cancer,” she added.

source : gulfnews