Researchers have discovered a new form of IVF, which they assert is ‘better than nature’ as it does not require high doses of potentially harmful hormones. Previously it was revealed that women who go in for IVF are risking themselves and their embryos because they are being subjected to many strong hormonal drugs that usually end up in producing embryos with genetic defects and suffer harmful changes to their womb lining too. Now this method involves nourishing and growing immature eggs outside the body, this would however reduce the need to pump women with hormones to mature the eggs internally. Nearly, 400 healthy babies in Denmark have resulted because of the new discovery. In vitro maturation (IVM) could significantly cut the risk of side effects for the mother and reduce the drug bill, which in the UK is mostly met by the patients. The Danish doctors have successfully used it on large scale and have come out with 30% success rate. Svend Lindenberg, the Danish professor asserted, ‘The doctor now has a tool … which can minimise the risks involved in IVF. We now have a more comfortable treatment for women and we haven’t seen any problems in any of the babies who have been born as a result.’ He added, ‘If you have a 30-year-old woman who menstruates regularly she will conceive every five months. That’s a 20% chance. With this method some women will have a 30% chance.’ The latest method is only favorable for about 12% of women seeking IVF who are under 37 and have specific fertility problems that means they produce many eggs but still fail to get pregnant. However, this group includes women who have polycystic ovary syndrome and those most at risk of side effects. Some researchers in the UK have warned women of the new technique asserting it may not be ‘suitable for all women’.
