OK, now I'm just getting lazy. Below is news that a local couple used 21-year-old frozen sperm to successfully have a child (Stella - nice name) in March. While the story involves leukemia and is ultimately lovely, there's nothing grosser than saying, typing and thinking about sperm frozen for 21 years. And then used. Successfully. Maybe it's just me. Hooray, science! You work wonderful, disgusting miracles!
IVF Baby Born From 21-Year-Old Frozen Sperm, Ties World Record
Charlotte new dad, 38, froze sperm at 16 before chemotherapy that cured his leukemia
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – Fertility specialists of Reproductive Endocrinology Associates of Charlotte (REACH) herald the successful birth of a baby girl March 4 who was conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) at their laboratory with sperm frozen for 21 years, which they believe ties the world record for the longest-frozen sperm used to create a baby with IVF.
Chris Biblis, 38, of Charlotte, was treated for leukemia from age 13 to 18. In 1987, at 16, his family encouraged him to freeze his sperm, even though there was no treatment for male infertility at the time. It was not until that 1992 the first baby was born from intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a breakthrough fertility technology in which scientists inject a carefully selected healthy sperm cell into a human egg in the lab.
Biblis is now in remission, having been clinically disease-free for more than 20 years. In May 2008, he and his wife, Melodie Biblis, 33, also in excellent health, sought fertility treatment with REACH founder and fertility specialist Dr. Richard L. Wing.
“They achieved pregnancy on their first cycle of intracytoplasmic sperm injection used in conjunction with IVF, a now-routine procedure for male infertility, using her eggs and his frozen sperm,” Wing said. “We had every reason to expect a perfect baby but are thrilled nonetheless,” he said.
Baby Stella Biblis was born in excellent health March 4, 2009.
The Biblis couple is outspoken about the importance of cryopreservation (freezing) before treatment for diseases such as leukemia and cancer. Both routinely require radiation and chemotherapy that present the risk of infertility to both men and women, including some, like Biblis, who are treated during adolescence. Through her work as a pediatric nurse, Mrs. Biblis has been involved with families who have gone through similar challenges and confidently tells them “normal life goes on.”
Biblis shares cyropreservation history with New Yorker Ken Decker, whose daughter Madison was born in August 2008 from sperm Decker froze before undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease when he was 24. The 21-year span between both men’s sperm cryopreservation and their daughters births rank as two of the longest periods of time for conception on medical record.
REACH has successfully frozen men’s sperm as well as (already fertilized) embryos leftover from IVF for use at a future time. REACH doctors also participate with Fertile Hope, a national nonprofit organization that provides reproductive information, support, and financial aid to cancer patients whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility. More information is available online, http://reachdrs.com/assisted-reproductive-technology-art/egg-freezing.html.
The following timeline of assisted reproductive technology milestones places the birth of Stella Biblis in its historical context:
o The first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born 30 years ago in 1978.
o Embryo freezing began in 1983.
o Chris Biblis froze his sperm in 1987, although there was no treatment for male infertility at the time (embryo freezing was irrelevant for a young adolescent boy freezing sperm).
o The first ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) baby was reported in 1992.
o Unfertilized eggs were not frozen until 1997, the first time young women whose fertility was threatened by illness could store their eggs until the time they wished to start their families.
o Stella Biblis born March 4, 2009, from 21-year-old-sperm her father Chris Biblis froze in 1987.
Hey Regan, How about some compassion here!!! Whats so discusting about this miracle? We have 2 people who are very much in love and deserving of a child!!! Get out of the house and get a life!!! You could never be so lucky!!!!
Posted by: Mark | April 10, 2009 at 07:18 PM
Yeah, it's really great. Honestly. I'd probably just adopt first. If I'm lucky enough to have kids that will be wonderful. But I've also met far too many kids who didn't have parents. It's highly personal, though, and i think it's a great ending for this family. My only point was that reading the term 21-year-old sperm is nasty.
Posted by: regan | April 10, 2009 at 09:19 PM
Is this kid legal out of the womb?
Posted by: BD | April 13, 2009 at 08:19 AM