Mitochondrial replacement therapy
Mitochondrial
Replacement Therapy
Fertility Philippines is very proud about another first here in the Philippines – Next generation IVF treatment specifically to help treat advanced age infertility (40 years old and above). This treatment was originally developed in 2016 to help treat mitochondrial issues in females but inadvertently also treated IVF’s most difficult problem – low success rates at 40+.
So How
Does It Work
The process begins with the selection of egg and sperm from the intending parents. The selected egg from the intending mother is fertilized with the sperm from the father in our laboratory using ICSI. This results in the formation of a zygote, which is the earliest stage of embryo development.
After fertilization, but before the zygote begins dividing, the pronuclear transfer procedure takes place. This involves the transfer of the nucleus (containing the majority of the genetic material) from the fertilized egg of the intending parents into a donor egg that has had its nucleus removed.
Using micromanipulation techniques, the pronuclei (the nuclei of the sperm and egg before they fuse) from the intending parents’ embryo are carefully removed. Then, the donor egg, which also underwent removal of its nucleus, is implanted with the intending parents’ pronuclei. This effectively replaces the defective mitochondria in the intending parents’ egg with healthy mitochondria from the donor egg.
The reconstructed embryo, now containing the nuclear DNA from the intending parents and healthy mitochondria from the donor, is allowed to develop in vitro for a few days. Once it reaches a suitable stage of development, it can be transferred to the intending mother’s uterus for implantation and potential pregnancy.
