Recently, Create Fertility was featured on 7 News and The Briefing podcast, sharing a fertility treatment that many people are only just learning about.
That treatment is ovarian PRP (platelet-rich plasma). For a small group of patients, it offers a further option at a point in the fertility journey where choices may start to feel limited.
Why this conversation matters
Fertility challenges are more common than many people realise. Around one in six couples will experience difficulty conceiving. For some, standard treatments alone don’t lead to the outcome they’re hoping for.
The recent media coverage featured individuals sharing their personal fertility experiences, representing the types of challenges many of our patients face.
For most of these patients, ovarian PRP is not a first step. It’s something considered only after standard treatments haven’t worked and when patients want to understand whether there are any other reasonable options to explore.
What is ovarian PRP?
PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. It is prepared by taking a small sample of a patient’s own blood and processing it in a specialised medical centrifuge to concentrate platelets. These platelets contain growth factors involved in tissue repair and cellular signalling.
PRP has been used in medicine for many years, particularly in areas such as orthopaedics, sports medicine and wound healing.
In fertility treatment, PRP is used differently. At Create Fertility, ovarian PRP involves injecting this concentrated plasma directly into the ovaries, with the aim of supporting ovarian function and responsiveness.
How might PRP help in fertility treatment?
As ovarian reserve declines, whether due to age or other factors, the number of available eggs decreases, which can reduce the ovaries’ response to stimulation during fertility treatment. This may make it harder to retrieve eggs, even though the eggs are already present.
It’s important to be clear about what PRP can and cannot do. PRP does not create new eggs. Egg number and quality are closely linked to age, and that cannot be reversed.
In some patients, ovarian PRP treatment may help support the ovarian environment. Because PRP contains concentrated growth factors, it is thought to stimulate local tissue activity including blood flow and follicular signalling, which may enhance the ovaries’ response to stimulation and improve access to recruitable follicles during IVF.
As our Clinical Director, Dr Scott Pearce, explained on The Briefing:
“We can’t change the age of the eggs, but PRP may help us access eggs that are already there.”
Who may be suitable for ovarian PRP?
The over 130 patients we’ve treated with ovarian PRP have typically been individuals and couples:
- with repeated IVF cycles and poor egg response
- who produce very few or no eggs despite stimulation
- approaching menopause or with significantly reduced ovarian reserve
- who are hoping to avoid or delay moving to donor eggs
What success have we seen so far?
Across our patient group, preliminary observational data suggests that some individuals may achieve pregnancy following ovarian PRP. For patients who have experienced years of setbacks, even small changes can carry enormous significance.
Ovarian PRP is an emerging treatment, and research into its potential role in fertility care is ongoing. At this stage, there is limited high?quality evidence to confirm whether it improves pregnancy outcomes.
Why raising awareness matters
When we were invited to speak about ovarian PRP, our aim was to help increase awareness.
Many patients only learn about PRP at a very late stage in their journey, often after they’ve been told their only remaining option is donor eggs. For some, PRP may offer another step to consider. For others, it may simply provide reassurance that all reasonable options have been explored.
A considered approach
Ovarian PRP is not a guarantee, it isn’t appropriate for everyone and it’s not a replacement for IVF or other fertility treatments.
But for a carefully selected group of patients who feel they’ve reached the limits of conventional treatment, it may offer another possibility worth discussing.
At Create Fertility, our focus is always on clear information, realistic expectations and individualised care. If ovarian PRP is something you’d like to explore, we’re here to talk through your situation. Because every fertility journey is different, and every decision deserves time and support.
Whenever you are ready, we are here for you.
