Japanese woman, 61, gives birth to own grandchild: report

A61-year-old Japanese woman has given birth to her own granddaughter after being implanted with a fertilizedegg from her daughter, a Tokyo newspaper reports.

Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's largest dailies, attributed the information to the head of a maternity clinic in the town of Shimosuwa, in Nagano prefecture, west of Tokyo.

The clinic director, Yahiro Netsu,has championedthe useof surrogate mothers to bear children for infertile women, a practice frowned on by Japanese medical authorities, but said he does not usually recommend childbearing at such an advanced age, the newspaper said.

The woman's name was not disclosed, and it was notclear when the child was born. By some accounts, the birth occurred last year.

The clinic said on its website that the woman became pregnant at 60 and gave birth at 61, Asahi said. Netsu plans to report the case at a meeting of the Japan Society of Fertilization and Implantation that starts next week,it said.

The Times of London, in a report from Tokyo, called the birth "a 'miracle' that has stunned one of the worlds fastest-aging societies sparking renewed calls for the entire process of surrogacy to be banned in Japan."

Eight surrogate mothers have given birth at the clinic andfour of themwere implanted withfertilized eggs from their daughters, the Associated Press reported.

A clinic spokeswoman said the 61-year-old was believed to be the oldest surrogate mother in Japan, and news reports suggested she wasthe oldest woman to have given birth in the country,the Associated Presssaid.