World's First Artificial Ovary Offers Potential

Researchers have announced the breakthrough development of world’s first artificial ovary by US scientists. Researchers at Brown University in Rhode Island have developed artificial ovary that could be beneficial for thousands of women who become infertile after chemotherapy or other treatments which adversely effects women’s reproductive system.

The artificial organ was found to help the eggs develop into their fully mature stage, at which they would be released into the womb to be fertilized.

The artificial ovary marks the first time researchers have successfully created a three-dimensional environment that contains the three main types of ovarian cells: theca cells, granulosa cells, and the eggs, known as oocytes. The paper's lead researcher is Sandra Carson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Brown and Woman and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

The Brown researchers' innovation was using a honeycomb-shaped mold to support the egg. Human eggs are too large to be grown without some kind of support structure.

The findings have been published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics.