First baby born from new egg-screening technique

Meet Oliver, the first baby in the world born using a new egg-screening technique that could double the odds of an implanted embryo taking hold in the womb, unveiled by British experts on Wednesday.

Baby Oliver was born in Britain to a 41-year-old woman after 13 failed attempts at in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The new technique, called array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH), makes it possible to ensure eggs have a normal number of chromosomes, boosting the likelihood of a successful pregnancy.

Simon Fishel, managing director of the CARE Fertility Group, which oversaw the procedure, said chromosomal abnormality plays a major part in the failure to establish a pregnancy. Full chromosome analysis may double the chance of success in couples who have a poor chance of conceiving or a history of failed treatments and miscarriage.

The technique has the potential to dramatically reduce the incidence of miscarriages and multiple pregnancies in IVF patients.

It could also help screen against birth defects. The most common cause of failure in IVF in which a woman's eggs are fertilised outside the body and then placed in the womb is an abnormal number of chromosomes in the egg, studies have shown.

The new screening technique is faster that conventional CGH, which means that the embryo does not have to be frozen. The results come back in 24-to-48 hours rather than five days or a week.