Stem Cell Treatment in IVF / ICSI

Gone are the days when Stem Cell therapy used to be considered as merely experimental. There are several good quality manuscripts published in international literature citing fantastic results availed from Stem Cell therapy in otherwise, hopeless cases.

When can Stem Cell Treatment be thought of?

1. Tuberculosis is rampant in India. Although TB usually affects the lungs, sometimes the bacilli infect the reproductive organs also. When a woman suffers from genital TB, it is common to see devastating effects on the fallopian tubes and sometimes on the endometrium.

• IVF can circumvent the diseased tubes but the uterus is a very vital organ to lose. In case the inner lining of the uterus called the endometrium is severely damaged, the only option to conceive and carry a pregnancy to delivery is surrogacy.
• In case the couple do not wish to avail surrogacy due to cultural/financial reasons, then one can think of Stem Cell therapy. Janini IVF, the leading and best IVF centre in Delhi, offers stem-cell therapy to those who can benefit from it.
• Stem Cells are then injected into the endometrium and it is theorised they would heal the damaged endometrium so that it can regrow to previous levels. This can, and has in many instances, resulted in a successful pregnancy outcome.
• Along with tuberculosis, anything else that damages the endometrium irreversibly (called Asherman syndrome) like repeated curettage, chronic endometritis, other infections, etc. would also benefit from Stem Cell therapy.

2. Poor ovarian reserve.

• There is a natural decline of ovarian reserve as a woman ages. There is a limited amount of eggs every girl is born with and this number continuously declines as she ages into an adult woman. This decline accelerates after the age of 35. In certain instances, and very commonly seen now, this decline is prematurely accelerated resulting in a poor egg reserve even in lesser ages, like 30 years of age or even less. There is no medicine or injection available that can “re-grow” those lost eggs.
• We in our practice come across many ladies who want their own genetic baby, even at advancing age. Such women usually have poor ovarian reserve and when counselled for egg donation, they decline or go for it reluctantly, leading to emotional and psychological problems later on. Until now, nothing was available to help such women to restore their egg reserve to “younger” levels.
• But now, in the top rated IVF Center clinic in Delhi, Stem Cell Treatment is avaialble. Stem Cells could be injected in the ovary under laparoscopic guidance and those Stem Cells have been found to regenerate into healthy follicles in several studies. Even women who have attained menopause have availed this treatment and have found to resume their menses.

Where are the Stem Cells obtained from?

• There are two basic sources of obtaining Stem Cells. One is called ‘PRP’ or platelet-rich plasma. This is derived from patient’s own blood. Blood is pooled and filtered for Stem Cells, which are then isolated and used for therapy.
• Other is bone marrow Stem Cells. Here, the patient’s own bone marrow is used to extract healthy Stem Cells.
• Both the above sources are autologous i.e. patient’s own. So, there is no risk of contamination or infection, or adverse reaction or rejection.

What can I expect out of Stem Cell Therapy and should I go for it?

Every new scientific approach takes years to develop robust, unequivocal evidence to guide practitioners. As of now, although Stem Cell Treatment looks highly promising, it is still in nascent stage. Rather than expecting miraculous results, one can think of Stem Cell Treatment when nothing else works or when other options like surrogacy or egg donation, which are much more effective, are just not acceptable. If nothing else, there would be at least some benefit from Stem Cells, and surely, no harm will come.