Posted on 05/25/2004 7:20:16 AM PDT by dead
A British woman has given birth to a healthy baby using sperm from her husband which had been frozen for 21 years in what is believed to be a record for fertility treatment, scientists said.
Researchers from St Mary's Hospital and Christie Hospital, both in Manchester, northwest England, said that they thought the 21-year gap was the longest ever for a successful birth.
The child's father had five samples of sperm frozen in 1979 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer and having treatment which it was known would leave him sterile, according an account in the journal Human Reproduction.
Following surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy the cancer was found to have cleared, and 21 years later he and his wife - who wish to remain anonymous - decided they wanted children.
A course of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), in which a single sperm was injected into an egg, was used and the baby boy was born during 2002.
Greg Horn, a senior embryologist St Mary's Hospital said that even with 21 years of storage the percentage of moving sperm after thawing remained high.
"This case report provides evidence that long-term freezing can successfully preserve sperm quality and fertility," he said.
"This is important to know because semen stored by young cancer patients is undertaken at a time of great emotional stress when future fertility is unlikely to be an immediate priority."
AFP
Did they thaw it out first?
Damn, the kid's just a baby and he's already old enough to drink.(cymbal crash).
LOL
Not only that but the kid will also be a smart-aleck know-it-all with all the answers like every other 21-year old.
LOL, :D
That was actualy something quite funny you said there.
But if so, then because hes in Britain, he's all rdy been old enough to vote and drink for the last 'Two' years,..
So then dose that mean he's also been old enough to get his 'end away' for the last 'FIVE' years? ;) ...
i guess he realy 'Will' be a late starter. - if u know what i mean ;)
I thought the drinking age in England was 18. Did they raise it to 19?
There's a joke in here somewhere about coming late to the party.
I think he was being facetious. If not, he must be posting from a group home for the mentally disabled somewhere.
So can the baby drink legally?
Vanilla Ice
If he had cancer 21 years ago, how old are the parents now?
I heard that the father was 17 when he had the sperm frozen. That would make him 38 or 39 now (21 years + 9 months).
Correction: The father was 17 in 1979. That would mean he is either 41 or 42 now. The story says the baby was born in 2002, so he was 38 or 39 at the time of the child's birth.
I know, they fucked that up some how,.... even on the TV news across briton they were confusing us.... and condradicting them selfs
Ya, most guys cum early anyway,... So this must be a record braker,....
Either that , or the world worst case of 'Premiture ejaculation' ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.