In an incredible achievement for science, reproductive tissue grown from a patient’s own cells have been successfully transferred to the body for the first time earlier this year.
Four women who were born without reproductive organs due to a rare condition are now fully functional.
“After the operation they were able to function normally. They had normal levels of desire, arousal, satisfaction and [climax],” says Anthony Atala at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina.
One of the patients, who asked to remain anonymous, said the treatment completely changed her life.
“I truly feel fortunate, because I’ll have a normal life – completely normal,” she says. “It’s important to let other girls that have the same problem know that it does not end knowing that you have the disease, because there is a treatment.”
But the big question that remains is whether or not any of these women will be able to have children.
“They haven’t tried,” says Atala, “but they can ovulate, so there is no reason to suspect that they cannot.”
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