World's first baby born from egg automatically frozen at Barcelona clinic
Thursday, November 16, 2017 @ 12:59 PM
THE WORLD'S first baby has been born from an automatically flash-frozen egg after his mother was treated in a Barcelona clinic.
Although the birth was on September 29, the news has only just broken because medics wanted to ensure the baby was in good health and developing properly after being born.
He was born naturally at 37 weeks, weighing just 2.2 kilos (4lb 13.6oz) and measuring 46 centimetres (1'7”) in Italy, and was said to be in excellent health when he came into the world.
His mother went through what is known as 'oocyte cryopreservation' – the technical term for having her eggs frozen – at the Dexeus Mujer private fertility clinic in the Catalunya capital.
The method involves extracting eggs, then freezing them immediately after a swift cleaning and testing, in liquid nitrogen at -196ºC.
Flash-freezing reduces the risk of ice crystals forming, and until recently, could only be carried out manually.
But a year ago, a new technique was introduced whereby the eggs could be flash-frozen automatically using an hermetically-sealed container which prevents them getting into direct contact with the liquid nitrogen.
Known as a 'GAVI System', the new technology prevents the eggs becoming contaminated by outside elements and reduces any possible interfering factors that may arise through manual freezing, which has to be done by an experienced embryologist.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com