Fertility & IVF Treatment With Bone Marrow

Approximately 10 percent of the population suffers from infertility. Infertility includes not only the ability to get pregnant but also the ability to stay pregnant. Many treatments already exists to combat infertility. However, recent studies suggest that treatment with bone marrow transplants may increase or restore fertility in women.

Causes of Infertility

• The cause infertility can be both internal and external. Internal causes in women include missing or blocked fallopian tubes and endometriosis. Internal causes in men can be poor sperm motility and/or low sperm production. External factors in both sexes include drug and alcohol use, weight, age, and chemical exposure such as chemotherapy or other medical treatments. No correlation exists between infertility and race, ethnicity or religion.

Treatment of Infertility

• Various forms of treatment exist. The most common are medication, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Fertility medications increase the ability to maintain a pregnancy. They can also be used to induce or increase the number of eggs produced, particularly in preparation for IUI and IVF. Intrauterine insemination, also known as artificial insemination, is when sperm, either from the husband or a donor, is concentrated and inserted directly into the uterus at the time of ovulation. In vitro fertilization is when eggs are harvested from a woman and fertilized in a laboratory dish with sperm from the husband or donor. The resulting fertilized egg multiplies and forms an immature embryo that the doctor implants into the uterus. IVF usually involves the implantation of one or more embryos to ensure success.

The Nature of Bone Marrow

• Bone marrow exists in its largest quantity in the femur or long bone of the leg. It produces white and red blood cells as well as platelets. These cells evolve from stem cells, which are cells capable of producing any cell in the body. Treatments for leukemia or lymphoma include a bone marrow transplant. Doctors eradicate the existing bone marrow by chemotherapy. Then marrow from a related or unrelated donor is used to replace the diseased marrow of the patient.

How Bone Marrow Effects Fertility and its Potential Effects on IVF

• Bone marrow transplants may increase or restore fertility in some patients. In 2007 Johnathan Tilly, Ph.D., published a study that suggests that cells derived from active stem cells in transplanted bone marrow migrate to the ovaries of infertile female mice and stimulate gamete production in the host ovaries. While further study indicated that all mature eggs only contained the host’s genetic material, it is unclear if the donor cells found in the ovaries would also mature into viable eggs. No current research is available regarding the effects of fertility drugs on the ability of donor oocytes to produce eggs. In terms of IVF it means that a possibility exists that the child produced from a harvested egg may not be genetically related to the woman carrying the child.

Why Bone Marrow Transplant is Not Currently a Viable Fertility Treatment

• Though a lack of additional research is one reason bone marrow transplants will not be widely used as a fertility treatment just yet, there are other factors that make this procedure nonviable. Existing bone marrow must be eradicated before transplantation opens up the patient to infection. If a donor cannot be found within the family unit, one must be sought from the National Marrow Donor Program. Insurance may see all of this as an elective procedure and refuse to cover any of the costs. Recovery from a transplant can take up to 100 days during which the recipient is at a high risk of infection while the body rebuilds its immune system.