Canadian doctors have taken IVF to a new level. Zain Rajani, not even a month old, is the first baby born thanks to a new technique of strengthening egg quality with stem cells. The stem cells make older eggs "act young again," according to Time.
In May 2014, Zain's mother, 34-year-old Natasha Rajani had a small piece of her ovarian tissue removed by the doctors at Toronto's First Steps Fertility, according to Canada Journal News of the World. OvaScience, the fertility company that provides Augment, removed the eggs stem cells from the tissue and extracted their mitochondria.
Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses and adding the molecular batteries to the eggs and sperm improved the quality. Fifteen eggs were produced and four were fertilized, but only one was mature enough to transfer. "I knew it wasn't the best-quality embryo, but it was what she had," said Dr. Marjorie Dixon, of First Steps Fertility, according to Canada Journal News of the World.
Two other embryos have been frozen, should the Rajanis decide it is time for Zain to have a sibling.
This process is not currently available in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers the process of introducing mitochondria a form of gene therapy, according to Canada Journal News of the World, which is regulated by the FDA.
"We could be on the cusp of something incredibly important," said Dr. Owen Davis, president of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), according to Time. "Something that is really going to pan out to be revolutionary."
