Chicago -- U.S. medical scientists say they have grown immature human egg cells to near maturity in a laboratory.
The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researchers said their achievement marks the first time anyone has successfully grown a woman's immature egg cells, contained in a tiny sac called a follicle, to a healthy and nearly mature egg in the laboratory. When an egg is fully mature, it is ready to be fertilized.
The scientists said their research, if successful in the next steps, might eventually provide a new fertility option for women whose cancer treatments destroy their ability to reproduce.
