Melbourne, Sep 2 (IANS): A team at Melbourne IVF and the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia have achieved a breakthrough by helping an infertile woman to conceive through an ovarian tissue transplanted into her abdomen.

The breakthrough, in a world first, has the potential to revolutionise the existing fertility treatment, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Twenty six-year-old Vali is 26 weeks pregnant with twins after previously being declared infertile because of a treatment for ovarian cancer.

The doctors managed to help the women produce two healthy eggs after transplanting her own frozen ovarian tissue into her abdomen.

Gab Kovas, medical director of Monash IVF, said the breakthrough was very exciting.

"It makes me quite convinced that the optimal way for preserving fertility will be taking ovarian tissue," the report quoted Kovas as saying.

"If I had a patient who was going to lose their fertility to cancer treatment, I would offer it from now on,” he said.

Kate Stern, Vali's fertility specialist, said it had taken years of daily monitoring to achieve the pregnancy.

"When it happened, I think we all had a good cry together really," Stern said.

"Vali had remained strong throughout. Never once did she waver and tell us it was too hard and she wanted to give up," she added.

The sample of Vali's ovarian tissue was kept frozen for seven years and was taken from her cancer-free ovary.

The new breakthrough could be a blessing for women with conditions such as ovarian cancer where the treatment could make them infertile.