Singapore's Nuh Delivers Asia's First Baby Conceived Naturally From Implanted Ovarian Tissue

SINGAPORE, July 8 (Bernama) -- A team at the National University Hospital's Women's Centre, led by Dr Anupriya Agarwal (consultant, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology), has helped restore a cancer patient's natural ability to conceive. This is by preserving part of her ovarian tissue through ovarian tissue cryopreservation before she received chemotherapy, then implanting it four years later when she had recovered from the cancer. She conceived naturally and delivered a healthy baby in May 2015. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is a process whereby part of a woman's ovaries are removed and then preserved via a slow-freeze method for future re-implantation into the body. This is done to help preserve the woman's fertility, as invasive treatment for diseases such as cancer can typically affect her reproductive system and ability to conceive. In October 2009, Siti Nurjannah Sapiee, then 26 years old, was diagnosed with Stage 2b synovial sarcoma of the thigh, a rare cancer of the soft tissue that typically occurs near the large joints of the arms or legs. National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) consultant, Dr Andrea Wong, who had treated Siti Nurjannah's cancer, said: "Siti had plans to get married and have children. As there was a 30-40 per cent chance that she would become menopause as a result of the chemotherapy, we referred her to Dr Agarwal to discuss how best to preserve her fertility before starting treatment." Dr Agarwal offered Siti Nurjannah to undergo ovarian tissue cryopreservation. Subsequently, Dr Agarwal and Assoc Prof Fong Yoke Fai (senior consultant, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology) carried out a laparoscopy to harvest tissue from both her ovaries. This involved cutting half of her two ovaries and sewing them. Then with the help of NUH's chief embryologist, Joyce Matthew, and her team, the cortex - the portion of the ovaries where the eggs are stored was preserved via a special freezing technique. By March 2013, Siti Nurjannah had recovered from cancer, was married and ready to have children. At this juncture, Dr Agarwal and Prof Fong carried out a mini laparotomy to implant Siti's preserved ovarian tissue, using extremely fine sultures. Three months after the procedure, Siti's first menstrual period cycle returned and she continued to have regular menstrual cycles subsequently. She returned to NUH in October 2014, this time nine weeks' pregnant with her first child. Under close and careful supervision by Dr Agarwal, the pregnancy proceeded smoothly and baby Hannah was delivered on May 21, 2015. Both mother and daughter are currently doing well. "We are extremely heartened by the outcome of Siti's progress and feel very honoured to have been able to journey with her in the past six years. "We hope her story encourages women not to give up on their future fertility in the face of illness and believe that every cloud has a silver lining," said Dr Agarwal. Baby Hannah is one of 1,879 SG50 babies born at NUH this year and reportedly one of only 21 babies conceived naturally and born worldwide following ovarian tissue cryopreservation. --BERNAMA