Man produces sperm from testicular tissue frozen as a child in breakthrough trial
Summary
A man has produced sperm after having testicular tissue that was frozen before chemotherapy as a child re-transplanted 16 years later. This is the first time frozen testicular tissue taken before puberty has been shown to restore sperm production in an adult.Key Facts
- The 27-year-old man had testicular tissue removed and frozen at age 10 before chemotherapy for sickle cell disease.
- In 2002, a Belgian clinic began freezing testicular tissue of boys who had not yet gone through puberty.
- The tissue contains stem cells that can develop into sperm and nurse cells that support sperm growth.
- Fourteen years later, pieces of the frozen tissue were grafted back into the man’s body.
- After a year, mature sperm were found in the transplanted tissue and collected for freezing.
- This method offers hope for fertility restoration in childhood cancer and sickle cell patients who lose fertility from treatment.
- Similar trials and tissue banking are underway in the UK, with over 1,000 samples stored.
- About 200 patients annually in the UK could benefit from this procedure using IVF to have biological children.
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