Mrs Iliescu told local television she had always wanted to be a mother but had been unable to conceive naturally. She says she is optimistic about her future as a mother, claiming her family has a history of longevity.

Last year, a 65-year-old Indian woman gave birth to a boy. Schoolteacher Satyabhama Mahapatra from Nayagarh in Orissa had been impregnated with an egg from her 26-year-old niece that had been fertilised by her husband.