Scientists have discovered stem cells in women’s ovaries capable of producing egg cells, raising new hope for patients who have gone infertile due to disease, medication or even old age.
Building from a previous research on mice, the research team developed a more sensitive method based on a technique called fluorescence-activated cell sorting. After successfully extracting egg-making stem cells from mice, the research team was able to grow egg cells from ovaries removed from sex-reassignment patients.
The findings challenge the assumption that women could only produce a limited supply of egg cells, and also raises the possibility of slowing down women’s biological clocks.
Read more at Massachusetts General Hospital