New Fertility Treatment Now Available in New Zealand

New Fertility Treatment Now Available in New Zealand

Women with polycystic ovarian disease or who are undergoing cancer treatment are set to benefit from a fertility treatment previously unavailable in New Zealand.

The technique, called In Vitro Maturation (IVM), involves the removal of the eggs from an ovarian follicle, allowing them to mature in the laboratory for one to two days and then fertilised in the same way as IVF. This offers an alternative to conventional In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) whereby mature eggs are collected and fertilised straight away.

Dr Simon Kelly of Fertility Associates, who will be introducing this service to New Zealand, says that this will mean pregnancy with their own eggs will be possible for some 5% of women for whom conventional IVF treatment is more challenging.. “IVM is commonly used for women who have polycystic ovarian disease or who may be about to undergo treatment for cancer where it is known the IVF drugs may stimulate the growth of the existing cancer,” Dr Kelly said. “While we expect the initial numbers to be quite low, we do expect to see more women opting for IVM as the process improves and understanding of IVM increases.”

IVM has huge potential as the technique of maturing a woman’s eggs outside of her body continues to improve. It has the potential to minimise the duration, cost and side effects of IVF drugs, and to relieve women of the time consuming and intrusive nature of blood tests and ultrasound scans leading up to IVF itself.

Dr Kelly believes that as more fertility clinics gain experience with IVM, the pace of improvement will accelerate.

IVM has been used overseas for around 12 years but approval for use in New Zealand has been granted by the Ministry of Health under the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Act 2004 this week.

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For further information please contact Dr Simon Kelly, Fertility Associates, on 021 432 265

About the HART Act – Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004
The practice of fertility treatment where sperm, eggs or embryos spend time outside the human body is governed by the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Act 2004.
The Act starts by listing important principles, including the health and well being of children conceived using fertility treatments, the health safety and dignity of future generations, the health and well being of women having treatment, informed consent, consideration and respect for the needs, values and beliefs of Maori, and consideration and respect for ethical, spiritual and cultural perspectives in society.
In addition, the Act states that offspring conceived through the use of donor sperm or donor eggs should be made aware by their parents of their genetic origins, and be able to secure information about the donor and his or her identity.

About Dr Simon Kelly
Dr Simon Kelly graduated from the University of Otago and then completed postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology both in Auckland and the United Kingdom.
He subsequently undertook two fellowships in reproductive medicine firstly as a lecturer to Professor Stuart Campbell at St George's Hospital Medical School in London, UK and then most recently with Professor S L Tan at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His main areas of interest are the application of advanced ultrasound technology to infertility management, in vitro maturation of immature oocytes collected from unstimulated ovaries and aspects of fertility preservation.
Apart from his fertility interests, Simon also has a private obstetric and gynaecology practice based at Fertility Associates. He conducts clinics in Auckland, East Auckland and the North Shore.

About In Vitro Maturation (IVM)
In Vitro Maturation (IVM) of eggs is a promising new technology that may function as another option to traditional IVF. The benefits of IVM are patient convenience, patient safety because drugs are not used, and reduction or no cost of drugs. IVM involves collection of immature eggs from patients, these are then matured in the laboratory, and may then be used in standard IVF / ICSI procedures.
Using immature eggs in the IVM process requires extensive laboratory work and is more time consuming than traditional IVF.
IVM is a well established technique for many animals, and is used commercially in cattle breeding.

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