Ovarian Rejuvenation: The Miracle Cure for Fertility?

We were in the middle of our IVF cycle in 2021, when I came across an instagram add for a fertility clinic in New York that offered “Ovarian Rejuvenation”. It said they offered a treatment that gives women with diminished ovarian reserve a better chance of a successful IVF cycle.

One of the hardest parts of the diminished ovarian reserve diagnosis, is that it seems hopeless. We have always been taught that women are born with a limited number of eggs, and that’s it. So the idea of ovarian rejuvenation is so exciting!

Immediately I went to Google. I learned that this treatment is fairly new, all the research was in the last 5 years. However, the research they did have was super encouraging. It shows women with diminished ovarian reserve, women over 40, and women who have early onset menopause ALL are candidates for this treatment! How exciting is that?

What is Ovarian Rejuvenation?

The procedure itself is Platelet Rich Plasma injections or PRP. PRP is not a new concept, they use it in a lot of different areas of the body to help with healing. What they do is draw the person’s blood, and put it in a centrifuge which causes the blood in the tube to separate. A centrifuge is a machine that spins super fast. The blood separates into its three main components: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. What they are interested in is the platelets. Platelets are what cause our blood to clot, but they also contain growth factors that help with healing.

So after the blood is spun down into the different parts they take the platelets and inject them into the ovaries (watch how it is done). The results show an increase in quantity and quality of the eggs, which then can increase a person’s chance of getting pregnant.

Who Does The Procedure?

In my Google search I found that there are not that many clinics in the US that do this procedure. A few I know of are the clinic in New York that I first saw, one in Beverly Hills, and one in San Diego. I am sure there are more, and the number will continue to grow. The clinic in San Diego is called Get 5 Fertility. They offer not only PRP, but four different “generations” of it. The generation used depends on the patient’s specific need.

I did a phone consultation with Dr. Wood of Gen 5 Fertility in March of 2021, between our egg retrieval and transfer. Dr. Wood told me that I would be a good candidate for ovarian rejuvenation, but that our chances of success with our one good embryo was very high. (Read our Fertility Success Story). He told me to call him back when we decided we were ready to try for number two, so that’s what we did.

Our Plan

We decided to have our consultation in person so they could update some blood work and do an ultrasound. When we met with him he told us that even though I was young (bless these doctors for telling me I’m young!) my AMH is concerning. He suggested that we don’t wait to do this procedure and start IVF. He actually asked his scheduler to get me on the books for December! (That might be a bit soon). He also told me that I would be a good candidate for the “second generation” of ovarian rejuvenation.

This is the same procedure, the only difference is that the platelets are incubated for about 2 hours. This helps to really activate the growth factors, making them more effective. Dr. Wood was very confident that this procedure would help me and help us have a successful IVF cycle.

If all goes as planned we will start our next round with ovarian rejuvenation then move to IVF, maybe even as early as January!! I feel SO MUCH BETTER diving back into the fertility world knowing that there is a new, very promising option to treat diminished ovarian reserve. I will still continue take all of my fertility supplements. But could this be the “fertility miracle” we have been waiting for?

Please let me know if you have any questions about the ovarian rejuvenation procedure or anything else infertility related. Thanks for being here!

We’ve Got This!

xx Mollie