This assisted method of procreation consists in taking immature eggs before making them mature in the laboratory. Less painful and less invasive than IVF, it develops more and more.
- In vitro maturation is an assisted method of procreation: it consists in taking ova before maturity.
- They will then ripen in the laboratory.
- This technique requires much fewer hormonal injections than IVF, which reduces side effects.
More than 8 million children have been born thanks to in vitro fertilization (IVF) since the 1980s, according to theNational Institute of Demographic Studies. This method of procreation has revolutionized the management of fertility disorders. But since then, another method, less invasive, has been developing: in vitro maturation (MIV). In the American magazine The Atlanticjournalist Kristen V. Brun takes stock of this new technique.
IVF: A common method with multiple side effects
“”While IVF is based on hormone injections to make eggs ripen inside the body, the MIV consists in collecting immature eggs in the ovaries and making them ripen in the laboratory “she explains. This could change everything, because one of the problems of IVF is the multitude of side effects felt by women during ovarian stimulation. The American journalist cites itching, nausea, fatigue, sadness, headache, mood disorders or bloating. “”Very rarely, bleeding in the belly or an infection of the ovary can occur “also indicates a document University hospitals in Geneva. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is another possible IVF complication, although it remains rare. “”In the weeks following the ovum puncture, the ovary swells significantly and liquid accumulates in the belly“Underlines the text.
In vitro maturation: a procreation technique that appeared in the 1990s
Conversely, MIV is an unvasive technique. “”Harvesting of immature follicles requires only days of hormonal injections, or even completely removes this process, Note Kristen V. Brun. Reducing hormone doses necessarily means fewer side effects and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.“This method of procreation made it possible to give birth to a first child in Korea in 1991. Since then, it has been used and perfected in different countries, notably in the United States, Vietnam and Belgium.
Who is in vitro maturation for?
For the time being, the method does not make it possible to obtain as many eggs and mature embryos as IVF, even if the figures improve. However, it could be an interesting option for some people: women with polycystic ovary syndrome, which develop more follicles and often subject to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, for example. “”Many women use IVF because they approach their forties and there are few eggs left; They will probably never be good MIV candidates, notes the American journalist. But it could work very well for patients with blocked fallopian tubes, singles and LGBTQ people, and young women who want to freeze their eggs. This could also be useful for cancer patients, many of whom do not have time to undergo a long cycle of IVF before starting treatment against the disease that threatens their fertility. “
In France, the first birth by MIV took place in 2003.
