A Frenchwoman suffering from a chromosome disorder has given birth to a healthy daughter thanks to a ovarian transplant from her twin sister.
Doctors said the baby girl, called Victoria, is free of the disorder known as Turner Syndrome which affects both her mother and her aunt. Karine Thiriot, 39, gave birth to her 6lb 3oz daughter on March 8 this year at a private hospital in Le Chesnay, Paris.
'The mother and baby are doing well,' said Dr Guy Kerbrat, who delivered Victoria. The new mother had been trying to conceive, using in vitro fertilisation, for at least 15 years. Thiriot had no ovaries because of Turner Syndrome, which affects one girl in 2,500.
It occurs when one of the two X chromosomes that are found in females is completely or partially missing. It is not an inherited condition and occurs as a random event during the formation of reproductive cells.
Her twin sister Stephanie had a 'mosaic' form of the disorder, which meant it only affected some of her body's cells. She was fertile and managed to have two children.
In August 2009 Stephanie donated an ovary to Karine. Transplants between identical twins do not require anti-rejection treatment which would complicate a future pregnancy.
'It was the first such transplant in the world between twins with Turner syndrome,' said Belgian gynaecologist Jacques Donnez, who carried out the operation.
It was also the first ovarian transplant performed in Europe, said Donnez, who has since successfully performed a similar operation involving sisters who are not twins.
A few months after the transplant Thiriot's regular reproductive cycle had established itself and she became pregnant normally.
'Victoria is totally normal and doesn't have Turner syndrome,' she said.
Article: 18th April 2011 www.dailymail.co.uk
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