Belgian church spokesman says ovarian transplant offers women hope

Published: 2004-09-29

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A Belgian church spokesman said the successful birth of a baby after an ovarian transplant at a Catholic hospital offered "hope to many women." Msgr. Eric de Beukelaer, spokesman for the Belgian bishops' conference, added that "even if a move is ethically controversial, it should also be seen in a humanitarian light, as making possible wider benefits." In a Sept. 27 telephone interview, he said church leaders "weren't informed about this research, and we don't expect to have such work checked with us." The Lancet medical journal announced Sept. 24 that an eight-pound baby girl was born to a woman treated at the Catholic University of Louvain hospital. In 1997, doctors from Louvain's medical faculty, headed by Dr. Jacques Donnez, removed ovarian tissue from the mother and froze the tissue before she was given chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The chemotherapy triggered an early menopause. Five years later, doctors thawed the tissue and replaced it in the woman's right ovary in an attempt to restore her fertility. Experts said the birth offered hope to women facing cancer treatment that could leave them infertile.

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