Medical world first at UZ Brussel
For the first time, a woman with Turner syndrome has given birth to a healthy baby. A world first from the University Hospital Brussels (UZ Brussel).
Turner syndrome means that women have an abnormality in the ovaries. They lose their ovules more quickly than usual, thus compromising their fertility. In addition to thwarting their desire to have children, breast development and menstruation may lag behind, and they often suffer from growth disorders and an increased risk of heart defects.
Patients suffering from this disease are advised to have their eggs frozen at an early age, starting at puberty. Brussels IVF, the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at UZ Brussel in Jette, has succeeded in giving a young woman a healthy baby grown from her own frozen eggs after hormone treatment. In some cases, patients with Turner syndrome lose all their eggs even before puberty. If so, intergenerational donation may offer a solution, with the mother undergoing such treatment before she has reached an age to have her eggs frozen. Afterwards, she can then pass them on to her infertile daughter.
Fertility physician Michel De Vos at the IVF emphasises that it is a multidisciplinary affair. The patient deserves proper medical and psychological counselling in order to make the right choice in a well-informed manner.