An advance in growing immature human eggs in the laboratory could eventually help women and girls to preserve their fertility during treatment for cancer.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have successfully cultured immature eggs to a later stage of development, which could pave the way for maturing them artificially to the point at which they can be fertilised. The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, could allow the eggs to be grown outside the body, fertilised, and then used in IVF. Such a technique could also be used as a source of eggs for producing cloned embryonic stem cells for medical research, or for donor eggs to help infertile women to conceive.

“This is a significant step in developing immature eggs to maturity outside the body,” said Evelyn Telfer, leader of the Edinburgh team. “However, there is a lot more research to be carried out before this technique could be safely applied within a clinical setting.”

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