The first case of "frozen egg" baby in Luzhou, Sichuan Province, was born with a weight of 4 pounds and 8 pairs

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Huang Li Cover reporter Xu Qing

What is the best New Year's gift? For Xiao Lu (pseudonym) and Xiao Hui (pseudonym) in Luzhou, Sichuan Province, a couple who aspire to be parents, the arrival of the baby is the best New Year's gift. The birth of this baby also made the medical staff of the Department of Reproductive Medicine Technology of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University very happy, this healthy and lovely baby is the first case of "frozen egg" baby in the hospital, filling the gap in this assisted reproductive technology in Luzhou area.

After 5 years of marriage, she was infertile and now has successfully given birth to a son

Today, this "New Year's gift" is growing healthily. Recalling the way to seek medical treatment, Xiaohui and his wife were very emotional. One day in April 2020, the 35-year-old couple walked into the Reproductive Medicine Specialist Clinic of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University for consultation. After 5 years of marriage, the couple did not use contraception, but they have not been able to get pregnant.

"After inspection, the quality and quantity of the man's sperm were not up to standard." Wang Fang, the doctor who treated the couple, suggested they try IVF.

After completing the preoperative examination, the doctor began the first cycle of ovulation induction for Xiaolu and successfully obtained 8 mature eggs. However, on the day of the egg retrieval, the man did not get sperm, which was a big deal for the couple.

In the face of this special situation, doctors considered that repeated egg retrieval would cause some damage to Xiaolu's body, and recommended that Xiaolu take the way of freezing eggs to preserve the eggs, wait until the right time to thaw the eggs, and carry out in vitro insemination. After the couple signed the informed consent form, Xiaolu's eggs were frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 °C.

In April 2021, the couple came to the hospital again. "After nearly a year of conditioning, the quality and quantity of sperm have improved." Professor Wang Fang, who treated the couple again, said that this time, the man successfully extracted sperm, so the woman's eggs were revived and thawed.

All 8 "awakened" eggs survive and obtain normally fertilized embryos through second-generation IVF technology, known as single sperm intracytoplasmic injection.

"The lab staff selected two of the best quality 'embryonic babies' and transferred them into the mother's warm womb. After 14 days, the good news came, and the woman was successfully conceived. Professor Wang Fang said that after 50 days of pregnancy, the woman's ultrasound showed an intrauterine single fetus and had a fetal heartbeat.

Subsequently, Xiao Lu returned to her hometown to wait for delivery, and underwent a cesarean section at 37 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy, and successfully gave birth to a healthy son of 4 pounds and 8 pairs.

The technology is mature, and egg freezing provides fertility protection for special groups

"This is the first time we have frozen an egg, a total of 8 eggs have been frozen, and all of them have been revived after thawing, which means that the conditions and capabilities for our technology are fully mature." The laboratory team led by Chen Shaowei, deputy director of the Department of Reproductive Medicine Technology and director of the laboratory of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, has mastered the assisted reproductive technology of egg freezing and thawing after long-term research and practice.

Chen Shaowei told reporters that successfully frozen eggs can be frozen for up to 5 years, 10 years or even longer. However, freezing eggs is difficult, the number of eggs retrieved at a time is limited, and eggs are the largest cells in the human body and contain a lot of water. During the freezing process, water is easy to form ice crystals, and a little carelessness will damage the internal structure of the cell and the freezing fails, and it is also very easy to apoptosis during the recovery process, and cannot be used.

"The success of this 'egg freezing' is a major breakthrough in the hospital's assisted fertility technology, and it also adds a fertility guarantee for the people in need." Professor Huang Guiying, director of the Department of Reproductive Medicine Technology, said that "egg freezing" is an assisted reproductive medical technology, which is currently only used clinically for the failure of sperm retrieval in IVF, or the remedies taken by men who cannot take sperm for various reasons on the same day, as well as for women who have tumor diseases or who need to do IVF surgery due to infertility and have extracted eggs.

It is reported that the Department of Reproductive Medicine has carried out artificial insemination and IVF technology for many years, the technology is mature, the success rate is stable, and it ranks among the best in the province, so that many infertility patients in Luzhou and surrounding areas have realized their fertility dreams at their doorstep. The smooth birth of the hospital's first "frozen egg" baby has witnessed the maturity of egg freezing technology and egg recovery technology. This technology offers hope for fertile patients undergoing "IVF", avoiding unnecessary egg waste and economic losses.