The 39-year-old, Eirini Koka, is the first woman in Greece to give birth after an ovarian tissue transplant, on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 19:23. Mrs. Koka delivered a healthy baby boy weighing 3,020 grams via cesarean section.
This woman was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a hematological cancer, 16 years ago, for which she underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In 2013, the hematological cancer recurred, but this time, prior to proceeding with the necessary adjuvant treatment protocols to combat the cancer, she opted for the cryopreservation of her ovarian tissues to safeguard and preserve her fertility.
In 2021, after her recovery, she returned to her gynecologist, to perform transplantation of her cryopreserved ovarian cortex to restore her fertility. The groundbreaking medical event, in terms of the surgical procedure, took place at the GENESIS ATHENS Clinic, carried out by specialized doctors and clinical embryologists of the clinic, with the honorable and substantial presence of a team of specialized doctors from Oslo University Hospital in Norway, led by Professor and Head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine Peter Zoltan Fedorcsak, and Greek Clinical Embryologist, Director of the In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory Maria Bimba. Another pioneering aspect of this significant effort was that it was broadcasted live from the GENESIS ATHENS Clinic’s operating room to 13 different public hospitals in the country, allowing other Greek doctors to observe the entire process.
After 1.5 years of ovarian function restoration and having collected eggs fertilized with her husband’s sperm with IVF technique, Mrs. Koka underwent the transfer of two embryos at the blastocyst stage on October 5, 2023.
Her doctor and General Secretary of the Hellenic Society of Reproductive Medicine, Dr. Konstantinos Pantos, stated, “GENESIS ATHENS Clinic is once again at the forefront of scientific developments internationally. For the first time in Greek history, a pregnancy and live birth of a healthy child have been achieved after an autologous ovarian tissue transplantation. Science now allows us to overcome more and more obstacles. Through this method, 210 children have been born worldwide since the first child in the world in 2004, with a birth rate of 21%, and similar pregnancy rates from both natural conception and IVF. Pregnancies have been reported in some European countries such as Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, and a few clinics in the USA. The first birth in China occurred in 2021.”
Mrs. Koka expressed her joy by saying, “My greatest dream has come true. I fought and, with the help of Dr. Pantos’ team, I managed to receive the greatest gift in my life, my baby boy. I want to tell all women going through similar experiences that it is worth the effort to try.”