A ground-breaking new procedure could see women delay the menopause by up to 20 years thanks to work by the scientist who founded an IVF clinic in Nottingham.
It could transform the lives of thousands of women by freezing tissue from their ovaries and tricking their biological clocks into thinking they are younger than they are.
The operation, which could take as little as 30 minutes, could also extend their fertility although doctors insist the aim is to postpone the menopause rather than allow women to have more babies when they are older.
The procedure, the first of its kind in the world, is being offered privately to women up to the age of 40, the Mirror reports.
It is being offered in Birmingham by a company called ProFaM (Protecting Fertility and Menopause) co-founded by four experts in reproductive medicine.
Its chief executive and founder Simon Fishel, 66, is the IVF pioneer whose work led to the birth of Natalie Brown, sister of the first test-tube baby Louise Brown in 1978. Natalie later became the first woman conceived through IVF to have her own children naturally.
He founded the CARE fertility at The Park Hospital in Nottingham in 1997 and now has a network of successful clinics across the UK and Ireland, employing more than 500 people.
In February, the Nottingham clinic celebrated its 30,000th IVF baby.
Nine British women between aged between 22 and 36 have already undergone the surgery, which removes a piece of one of their ovaries. The tissue is then frozen to -150C.
The ovarian tissue will then be held in an ice bank until the women reach the menopause.
It will then be thawed and transplanted back into them where it will kickstart their natural hormones - delaying the menopause.
The NHS has said the average age for the woman to reach the menopause is 51 in the UK.
“Women are living longer than any time in human history,” said Mr Fishel.
“It is quite likely that many women will be in the menopause for longer than their fertile period. We are empowering women to take control of their own health naturally by delaying the menopause.”
The procedure costs between £3,000 and £7,000 for the removal and storage of ovarian tissue followed by about £4,000 for a regraft.
One of the nine women who have undergone the surgery, a 34 year old married mum of one, who wanted to avoid having to take HRT in future, said: “I have to say I never felt any pain, and it seems quite miraculous that it’s something so straightforward.”
A 10th British woman, Dixie-Louise Dexter has also undergone the procedure and had her ovarian tissue immediately transplanted back inside her to avoid premature menopause.
The 33-year-old had a hysterectomy because of the agony of endometriosis but had pioneering surgery at the same time to avoid premature menopause. “Being able to delay the menopause if life-changing,” she said.
