A MAJOR breakthrough in infertility treatment by Australian researchers could mean a cheaper and much less invasive alternative to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) could be made available to women who are struggling to become pregnant.
The innovative technique, which builds on an existing treatment called in-vitro maturation (IVM), uses significantly less hormone drugs than IVF and thus greatly reduces the risk of medical complications, especially for women with existing conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome.
An international team of researchers, led by Associate Professor Robert Gilchrist from UNSW’s School of Women’s and Children’s Health, showed that the improved technique resulted in an improved quality of eggs and a 50 per cent increase in the number of embryos compared to the standard IVM process.
He says the new IVM method uses more than 90 per cent less hormones than in IVF, which could cut between a third to half of the cost associated with the treatment.
Not only is this less expensive and less invasive than IVF, it is also much safer for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition that affects around 10 to 15 per cent of women.
“We believe that IVM will become the routine treatment of choice for all women undergoing infertility treatment.”
The research will soon move into the preclinical trial phase, which will be run by Cook Medical — depending on the results and approval by the regulatory bodies, the treatment could be available for women within three to five years.
Just my opinion, but 3-5 years is not that far away.
VRT Price at posting:
$8.27 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
