Fertile at 50? Egg-making stem cells found in ovaries of adult mammals suggest older women may yet see natural pregnancies
Chinese scientists in Yunnan province detect oocyte stem cells in living mammal for first time, spurring theory the cells could somehow be ‘revived’ to facilitate childbirth for middle-aged women
A groundbreaking discovery by Chinese scientists may help women over the age of 50 conceive naturally rather than depending on in-vitro fertilisation using donated eggs, according to a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Molecular Human Reproduction.
While men can stay fertile for life - India’s Ramajit Raghav fathered a child at the age of 96 in 2012 - women know they are racing against a relentless biological clock.
In fact, their chances of getting pregnant by natural means drop from 36 per cent in their early 40s to just 5 per cent after they hit 45. By 50, the odds are almost zero.
However, hope remains as the Chinese team detected for the first time an oocyte stem cell in the ovary of a living adult mammal. An oocyte is an immature ovum, or female reproductive cell that can divide and develop into an embryo after it is fertilised by a male cell.
Prior to this, women were believed to have a fixed number of oocytes - about 750,000 - at birth.
As they require so many activated oocytes to produce an egg during their monthly menstrual cycle, scientists assumed that women’s lifetime reserves were so badly depleted by the time they reach 50 that it resulted in them becoming infertile.