First Ovary Transplant Mom Gives Birth

Twin sister donated ovary in first-of-its-kind procedure

(NEWSER) - A formerly infertile London woman will give birth this week, the Daily Mail reports, thanks to an ovary transplant from her twin sister. The 38-year-old was declared infertile at age 15 and underwent menopause as a teenager, but became pregnant soon after the first-of-its-kind surgery. The discovery could help hundreds of thousands of women, including cancer patients who could have an ovary removed and frozen before undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. More»

(NEWSER) - A British fertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo into a woman who aborted it as soon as she found out, dashing another couple's hopes of having their second baby, reports the Telegraph. When a lab assistant informed the couple, they "held each other and sobbed," said the woman. “I remember thinking: ‘That’s our last hope gone—we will never have another child.’" A rash of recent mistakes has resulted in calls for more regulation of the fertility industry. More»

Study sees link with some forms of the disorder

(NEWSER) - If any expectant mom needed yet more evidence that smoking is a bad idea, here it is: Doing so during pregnancy raises the risk of having a child with Asperger's or another kind of autism, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed data from about 630,000 kids born in the 1990s in 11 states. The link seems strongest with the less severe forms of autism on the spectrum disorder, reports LiveScience . More»

Turkish surgeons restore arms and legs to 27-year-old

(NEWSER) - Doctors in Turkey say they have performed the world's first quadruple limb transplant on a man who lost both arms and legs at age 13, Sky News reports. The 20-hour operation at a hospital in Ankara required more than 50 doctors working on the patient, 27-year-old Sevket Cavdar. "We have good results but maybe we will lose all of the limbs," one surgeon says. "Maybe (we'll) lose only one or two, we have to wait, but I think for now we have good results." More»

It's the first kit to win FDA approval

(NEWSER) - If you've ever questioned your sperm count but weren't thrilled with the idea of dropping by a clinic, worry no longer: For the first time, you can get an FDA-approved home test. The $30 to $40 SpermCheck Fertility Home Sperm Test, available at CVS.com and Walgreens.com, says it's 98% accurate. "Sure, it's funny to talk about, but it could also truly change the way couples (and singles) approach conception," writes Brent Rose at Gizmodo . While nearly half of conception problems are on the male side, men are far more reluctant to head to a clinic for a checkup, he notes. More»