[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Infertility Center at Cha Hospital, Cha University School of Medicine in Ilsan announced on the 18th that it successfully achieved pregnancy through in vitro fertilization by thawing eggs that were frozen and stored before marriage.
Ms. A stored her eggs at the Ilsan Cha Hospital Infertility Center in 2020 before getting married. At the time of her visit, Ms. A was 39 years old and her AMH level, an indicator of ovarian age, was low, corresponding to the average level of about 42 years old. Although she had no plans to marry at the time, based on the medical staff's opinion that her AMH levels could continue to decline, she underwent egg retrieval and freezing three times between April and May of the same year.
After getting married in June last year, Ms. A attempted natural pregnancy but was unsuccessful. She then underwent in vitro fertilization using the frozen eggs with the 'PIEZO' device, and succeeded in becoming pregnant. Ms. A is expected to give birth in July this year.
Han Se-yeol, head of the Ilsan Cha Hospital Infertility Center, said, "The PIEZO device, which was first introduced domestically, played a significant role." He explained, "PIEZO is a device that gives a slight electrical stimulus to the egg to temporarily restore its vitality, making it effective for infertility patients with poor egg quality or a low number of eggs."
He added, "Recently, many women are young in age but experience rapid ovarian aging, so it is important to have an ovarian age test once you turn 35 to maintain fertility."
Egg freezing began in earnest after Cha Hospital developed the world's first vitrification freezing technology in 1998. In 1999, it started the world's first egg banking, and in 2012, it succeeded in childbirth by thawing eggs that had been frozen for 10 years. Recently, the World Association of Reproductive Medicine has cited egg freezing as a standard treatment for infertility.
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