health
Man produces sperm from testicular tissue frozen as a child in breakthrough trial
Exclusive: Sperm re-transplant offers hope that boys left infertile by chemotherapy could have biological children one day
TL;DR
- A man has produced sperm from testicular tissue that was frozen when he was 10 years old, before undergoing chemotherapy for sickle cell disease.
- This is the first time a transplant of cryopreserved prepubertal testicular tissue has successfully restored sperm production in an adult.
- The procedure involved re-transplanting tissue fragments containing spermatogonial stem cells and sertoli cells into the patient.
- Two of the grafts successfully produced mature sperm, which were collected and frozen for potential future use in IVF.
- This breakthrough offers hope for biological children to boys treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which can cause infertility.
- Similar trials are underway in the UK, with the potential to benefit around 200 patients annually.
- The collected sperm needs further testing to determine its fertilizing capability.