Background: Infertility caused by poor oocyte quality is one of the most difficult areas to manage. While oocyte donation is an effective treatment, for most women it is a treatment of last resort. Ovarian platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment is a relatively new adjunct therapy which has been reported to possibly improve oocyte quality and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment outcomes in women with severe diminished ovarian reserve.
Aims: To audit IVF and pregnancy outcomes following ovarian PRP treatment in a cohort of women under 45 years of age with severe diminished ovarian reserve and previous IVF treatment failure.
Methods: An audit of 20 consecutive patients comparing embryology outcomes before and after ovarian PRP treatment, together with assessment of PRP-related pregnancies and treatment complications.
Results: Overall, PRP treatment produced no significant improvement in oocyte number, but did increase the number of embryos generated compared to patients' own pre-PRP IVF cycle (zero vs two embryos, P = 0.005). In total four patients conceived viable genetically normal pregnancies in their next IVF cycle, and a further two conceived naturally within 4 months of the PRP treatment. Five of these pregnancies were in women 40 years or older, all being euploid on non-invasive pregnancy screening and viable beyond 12 weeks gestation. No operative complications were observed.
Conclusion: Ovarian PRP treatment appears to be low risk and may offer some promise in assisting pregnancy (natural and IVF-related), especially in women with reduced oocyte quality due to advanced maternal age. Future randomised controlled trials are urgently required to confirm this benefit.
Keywords: IVF; diminished ovarian reserve; infertility; platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
© 2022 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.