Nigeria records first baby from frozen egg

The first successful birth of a baby
conceived from frozen egg
of a 44-year-old woman,
who had suffered infertility
for eight years, making it the
first in the country and West
Africa.
According to Vanguard , the
birth and conception of the
baby, named Tiwatope,
which was carried out by
Nigerian fertility specialists
at The Bridge Clinic in Lagos
where the mother had her
eggs frozen using the
vitrification (flash-freezing)
process.

Announcing the medical
milestone, a fertility
physician at the hospital, Dr
Emmanuel Owie, said the
birth of the baby on February
16th this year, has puts Nigeria on the global map as regards the practice of oocyte (egg) freezing or cryopreservation, a new offering in the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) space.

“Tiwatope’s mother had her eggs frozen for two months, using
the vitrification, also known as flash- freezing, process.
This is the cutting edge technology in cryobiology, where the eggs or oocytes of a woman is dehydrated and the water content is replaced with ‘anti- freeze’ solution
(cryoprotectants) before freezing. This will prevent the formation of ice crystals which could destroy the cell.

The medical expterts fertilized the eggs using a standard technique known as intracytoplasmic
sperm injection (ICSI) to overcome the egg shell which normally
gets hardened with freezing.
The fertilized egg was subsequently
transferred into her womb, resulting in the pregnancy with Tiwa.
She had her antenatal care in her family hospital and delivered
the baby boy through
Caesarian Section.

Dr Owie said egg freezing
was particularly recommended for women diagnosed with cancer, who
may lose their fertility during
chemotherapy; women with
a family history of early
menopause; women with
objections to storing frozen
embryos for religious and/or
moral reasons; and women
who want to delay child-
bearing in order to pursue
some personal goals.