A British woman has given birth after a successful ovary transplant from her identical twin. The operation was carried out in St Louis, Missouri, by Dr Sherman Silber, on two 39-year-old women.

Dr Sherman believes that the technique, when perfected, will help women conceive even after cancer treatment which would otherwise have left them infertile. Doctors will remove an ovary, freeze it, and later on implant it. However, the "overwhelming usage" will be women who want to defer child-bearing until they feel ready for it.

"We are in the midst of an infertility epidemic which has become an enormous public problem," he told the London Telegraph. "The reason is that women have opportunities they didn't have before, they do not want to commit to a relationship until they are sure it is the right one, they want to get the degree, save a little money and buy the nice flat. It is the modern way, not just in England or the USA; everywhere women are putting off child-bearing."

IVF with donor eggs is another option for women who wish to delay children and menopause for social reasons. But an ovary transplant is "so much nicer and more convenient", says Dr Silber. ~ London Telegraph, Nov 17