THE WORLD'S first baby has been born from an automatically flash-frozen egg after his mother was treated in a Barcelona clinic.
Although the birth was on September 29, the news has only just broken because medics wanted to ensure the baby was in good health and developing properly after being born.
He was born naturally at 37 weeks, weighing just 2.2 kilos (4lb 13.6oz) and measuring 46 centimetres (1'7”) in Italy, and was said to be in excellent health when he came into the world.
His mother went through what is known as 'oocyte cryopreservation' – the technical term for having her eggs frozen – at the Dexeus Mujer private fertility clinic in the Catalunya capital.
The method involves extracting eggs, then freezing them immediately after a swift cleaning and testing, in liquid nitrogen at -196ºC.
Flash-freezing reduces the risk of ice crystals forming, and until recently, could only be carried out manually.
But a year ago, a new technique was introduced whereby the eggs could be flash-frozen automatically using an hermetically-sealed container which prevents them getting into direct contact with the liquid nitrogen.
Known as a 'GAVI System', the new technology prevents the eggs becoming contaminated by outside elements and reduces any possible interfering factors that may arise through manual freezing, which has to be done by an experienced embryologist.
When conducted by hand, the process is extremely delicate and requires maximum accuracy to ensure the best results.
The GAVI is only in use in a handful of hospitals worldwide, but is expected to see better results and a greater likelihood of frozen eggs being useable and resulting in a successful, healthy pregnancy.
And the first-ever birth using this method has proven that it is indeed viable.
The first time an embryo was frozen successfully in Spain was in 1983 and the first child born in the country as a result – known commonly as a 'test-tube baby' – was in 1987.
But egg-freezing was introduced in Spain until 2005.
It is now becoming immensely popular with women who know they want to have a child one day, but who are not ready emotionally or financially when they are at their most fertile, or are not 'in the right place' in their lives in terms of career achievement, property ownership or relationship status.
Fertility clinics now allow them to freeze their eggs when these are still viable and use them to become pregnant later in life.
At the moment, private clinics will not carry out IVF on a woman over the age of 50, either with her own or donor eggs.
This said, a Galicia doctor who knew of the risks had her third child earlier this year at the age of 62 after finding a Madrid clinic willing to take on the job.
In fact, her second child had been born the same way when she was 52.
