When the project is resumed in February it is planned to follow a procedure favored in Australia. The woman is first treated with a substance that induces maturation of more than one egg cell. Such precise timing makes it possible to have a full medical staff in readiness. The egg removal takes only a few minutes. A hollow needle is inserted through the abdominal wall and the egg cell sucked from its nest, or follicle, on the surface of the ovary.
Timing is critical.
If the egg becomes fully ripe and is ejected before removal, it is lost. When taken too early, it does not mature. If, in response to drug treatment, more than one egg is produced, retrieved, fertilized and inserted, the chances are greater that at least one will attach itself and mature. Several pregnancies have involved twins. The group at U.S.C. is using hormone control, as are physicians at the University of Texas Medical Center in Houston where two groups are trying embryo inserts.