Eggs can be harvested for future use
An aborted foetus could one day become the mother of a new baby by "donating" her eggs to an infertile woman, say researchers.
The highly controversial idea has been suggested as one solution to a worldwide shortage of women prepared to donate their eggs to help other women become pregnant.
It moved a little closer to reality on Monday with the unveiling of research from Israel and the Netherlands which found that the ovarian tissues taken from second and third trimester foetuses could be kept alive in the laboratory for weeks.
The ovarian follicles from the foetus - which would eventually mature to release eggs in a fully-grown woman - even developed slightly from their "primordial" state when placed in special culture chemicals.
I'm fully aware of the controversy about this - but probably, in some place, it will be ethically acceptable
Dr Tal Biron-Shenton, Meir Hospital
However, many scientific advances have to be made before it becomes technically possible to produce a viable egg which could be used in IVF.
The lead researcher, Dr Tal Biron-Shental, from Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, Israel, conceded that the concept of taking egg follicles from an aborted baby was controversial.
Presenting the work to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Madrid, she said: "I'm fully aware of the controversy about this - but probably, in some place, it will be ethically acceptable.
"There is a shortage of donated oocytes (eggs) for IVF - oocytes from aborted foetuses might provide a new source for these.
"There are a huge amount of follicles in the foetal ovary."
Her study, carried out in collaboration with Utrecht University in the Netherlands, involved seven foetuses which had been aborted later than usual in pregnancy because abnormalities were discovered.
Who would want to know that their mother was an aborted baby?
Nuala Scarisbrick, Life
Ovarian tissue samples, containing large numbers of follicles, were taken, and placed in a culture of growth-promoting chemicals in the laboratory.
After four weeks, chemical tests suggested that not only were many of the follicles still alive, but that some had begun developing into a more mature state - raising the possibility that one day, one could be persuaded to produce an egg that would be suitable for IVF.
Dr Biron-Shental said that while the follicles were "healthy and viable" at this stage, improvements would be needed in the chemicals used to culture them to progress much further.
Outrage
Nuala Scarisbrick, from the charity Life, said she found the idea of harvesting follicles from aborted foetuses as "utterly grotesque".
"Just because there may be a demand for this from desperate people doesn't make it right.
"I imagine that most normal people would be revulsed by the idea of this - but nothing is impossible these days, and, at the speed that science moves, I imagine this will be possible soon.
"Who would want to know that their mother was an aborted baby?"
Research boost
Professor Roger Gosden, director of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in the US, told BBC News Online that there were a number of question marks, ethical and practical, over the use of foetal follicles to help people become pregnant.
We do not consider the use of tissue from this source to be acceptable for fertility treatment.
Spokesman, HFEA
However, he said that the research itself was worthwhile, because it might help doctors learn more about the process, even if it never led to foetal eggs being used in IVF.
He said: "Surely it's better to do some good with tissue than no good?"
Professor Gosden said eggs retrieved from ovarian tissue itself might prove a better alternative to foetal eggs in the long run.
"I do have a problem if the research is extended to using foetal ovarian tissue for treatment of patients."
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates IVF in the UK, said that it would never be allowed to happen here.
A spokesman said: "The use of foetal ovarian tissue raises difficult social, medical scientific and legal questions.
"After a public consultation, we decided that it would be difficult for any child to come to terms with being created using aborted foetal material because of prevailing social attitudes.
"We do not consider the use of tissue from this source to be acceptable for fertility treatment."
An aborted foetus could one day become the mother of a new baby by "donating" her eggs to an infertile woman, say researchers.
The highly controversial idea has been suggested as one solution to a worldwide shortage of women prepared to donate their eggs to help other women become pregnant.
It moved a little closer to reality on Monday with the unveiling of research from Israel and the Netherlands which found that the ovarian tissues taken from second and third trimester foetuses could be kept alive in the laboratory for weeks.
The ovarian follicles from the foetus - which would eventually mature to release eggs in a fully-grown woman - even developed slightly from their "primordial" state when placed in special culture chemicals.
I'm fully aware of the controversy about this - but probably, in some place, it will be ethically acceptable
Dr Tal Biron-Shenton, Meir Hospital
However, many scientific advances have to be made before it becomes technically possible to produce a viable egg which could be used in IVF.
The lead researcher, Dr Tal Biron-Shental, from Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, Israel, conceded that the concept of taking egg follicles from an aborted baby was controversial.
Presenting the work to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Madrid, she said: "I'm fully aware of the controversy about this - but probably, in some place, it will be ethically acceptable.
"There is a shortage of donated oocytes (eggs) for IVF - oocytes from aborted foetuses might provide a new source for these.
"There are a huge amount of follicles in the foetal ovary."
Her study, carried out in collaboration with Utrecht University in the Netherlands, involved seven foetuses which had been aborted later than usual in pregnancy because abnormalities were discovered.
Who would want to know that their mother was an aborted baby?
Nuala Scarisbrick, Life
Ovarian tissue samples, containing large numbers of follicles, were taken, and placed in a culture of growth-promoting chemicals in the laboratory.
After four weeks, chemical tests suggested that not only were many of the follicles still alive, but that some had begun developing into a more mature state - raising the possibility that one day, one could be persuaded to produce an egg that would be suitable for IVF.
Dr Biron-Shental said that while the follicles were "healthy and viable" at this stage, improvements would be needed in the chemicals used to culture them to progress much further.
Outrage
Nuala Scarisbrick, from the charity Life, said she found the idea of harvesting follicles from aborted foetuses as "utterly grotesque".
"Just because there may be a demand for this from desperate people doesn't make it right.
"I imagine that most normal people would be revulsed by the idea of this - but nothing is impossible these days, and, at the speed that science moves, I imagine this will be possible soon.
"Who would want to know that their mother was an aborted baby?"
Research boost
Professor Roger Gosden, director of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in the US, told BBC News Online that there were a number of question marks, ethical and practical, over the use of foetal follicles to help people become pregnant.
We do not consider the use of tissue from this source to be acceptable for fertility treatment.
Spokesman, HFEA
However, he said that the research itself was worthwhile, because it might help doctors learn more about the process, even if it never led to foetal eggs being used in IVF.
He said: "Surely it's better to do some good with tissue than no good?"
Professor Gosden said eggs retrieved from ovarian tissue itself might prove a better alternative to foetal eggs in the long run.
"I do have a problem if the research is extended to using foetal ovarian tissue for treatment of patients."
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates IVF in the UK, said that it would never be allowed to happen here.
A spokesman said: "The use of foetal ovarian tissue raises difficult social, medical scientific and legal questions.
"After a public consultation, we decided that it would be difficult for any child to come to terms with being created using aborted foetal material because of prevailing social attitudes.
"We do not consider the use of tissue from this source to be acceptable for fertility treatment."
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