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."
British baby conceived from sperm frozen 21 years earlier
British baby conceived from sperm frozen 21 years earlier
"Why is the rum always gone?"...or in this case vodka....oh wait...nevermind.
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