An updated method of freezing eggs could transform fertility treatments and boosts the hopes of women who fear they could become infertile due to disease.
However, the discovery could also come in for criticism as it would allow women to become mothers well into their 50s.
Midland Fertility Services of Aldridge, near Walsall, developed a new technique to preserve eggs after they have been removed from the womb.
The eggs’ viability had been at risk with previous methods as they took hours to cool to a required temperature of -196C.
But Midland Fertility Services can now freeze eggs in less than a minute, using liquid nitrogen, meaning more eggs can survive for use in fertility treatment.
Olivia Bate, aged three-and-a-half months, was the first baby born via the new method after her mother Karen Bateman had her eggs frozen in 2009 after being told she may never be able to conceive
Ms Bateman had eight eggs frozen in liquid nitrogen in September 2009 , two of which were implanted into her womb five months later.
Just a fortnight later, scans confirmed Ms Bate was pregnant with her long-awaited first child.
Ms Bate told the News of the World she realised her sought-after motherhood had made medical history.
‘When (Olivia) is old enough to understand, we will tell her how significant her birth has been,’ she added.
Midland Fertility Services director Dr Gillian Lockwood said the innovation could prove as important for woman as the invention of the contraceptive pill.
‘Olivia's birth gives hope to the many young women who want to be mothers one day but can't try for a baby now.
‘If they freeze their eggs at the age of 30, then those eggs will stay that age for ever, so they can have a baby even at the age of 50 with no greater chance of miscarriage or Downs Syndrome than they had at 30. ‘
Women undergoing cancer treatment could also benefit from the technique
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