Sperm frozen for 22 years still able to produce a child
British cancer survivor John holds his "time-traveling baby"
According to the UK's World News on the 18th, a 37-year-old man named John Roland from Burton, Derbyshire, was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 14. To ensure he could have children in the future, John froze some of his sperm before undergoing chemotherapy, as reported on Baidu Space under the identifier zzf000zxyb4. John’s frozen sperm was stored in liquid nitrogen at a low temperature for 22 years. Last year, John and his wife Becky decided to start a family. British doctors used a technique called "intracytoplasmic sperm injection" (ICSI) to directly inject one of John’s frozen sperm into Becky’s egg. The fertilized egg was then implanted into Becky’s uterus. Remarkably, Becky became pregnant using her husband’s sperm that had been frozen for 22 years and gave birth to a healthy "time-traveling baby boy" four weeks ago. It is reported that Becky's pregnancy using her husband's sperm stored for 22 years has set a new record in the history of assisted reproduction in the UK!
At 15, he froze his sperm sample before chemotherapy
Reports indicate that the 37-year-old John Roland is a washing machine engineer from Burton, Derbyshire. In 1987, when he was just 14 years old, John discovered a lump on one of his testicles. After visiting the hospital for an examination, the doctor delivered shocking news: he had testicular cancer and would need painful chemotherapy. John recalled, "I first went to see my general practitioner, who immediately knew something was wrong. He conducted a biopsy on my testicle, which confirmed I had testicular cancer. I was devastated by the diagnosis; no young person wants this to happen to them, but I had to face the cruel reality."
When John was 15, British doctors decided to perform chemotherapy on him. However, they warned that the treatment would destroy his sperm and deprive him of the chance to have children in the future. To ensure he could still be a father someday, John decided to freeze part of his sperm before undergoing chemotherapy.
Frozen sperm survives after 22 years of storage
John's sperm was preserved in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius. What John never expected was that his frozen sperm would remain stored in liquid nitrogen for 22 years until last year, when he and his 29-year-old wife Becky decided to start a family, bringing these forgotten frozen sperms back into use! John recalled, "I froze some of my sperm before chemotherapy when I was only 15. I never imagined that it would be stored for 22 whole years."
Over the past 22 years, John has bravely fought against cancer. His cancer cells were eradicated four times but returned each time. John met his wife Becky, a sales manager at a bakery, 11 years ago. In 2001, encouraged by Becky, John defeated cancer for the fourth time. A year ago, John and Becky dreamed of having a child, but medical experts believed that due to John's sperm being frozen in liquid nitrogen for over two decades, the chances of Becky getting pregnant through conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) were slim. However, medical tests showed that despite being frozen for 22 years, John's sperm remained healthy and viable after thawing. To increase the chances of pregnancy, John and Becky followed their doctor's advice and opted for the pioneering "intracytoplasmic sperm injection" (ICSI) technique, which is somewhat similar to IVF but involves fertilization occurring in a dish. Doctors select a single sperm from John's frozen supply and inject it directly into Becky's egg.
Wife miraculously conceives with "frozen sperm"
In July of last year, doctors used John's frozen sperm to fertilize Becky's eggs via the "intracytoplasmic sperm injection" technique and implanted the fertilized embryo into Becky's uterus. Two months later, Becky happily discovered she was pregnant! Becky recalled, "I took a home pregnancy test, and the results confirmed I was pregnant. I knew we were going out for dinner that evening, so I placed the pregnancy test in a gift box. After dinner, I pushed the gift box across the table to John. When John realized the truth, he cried with joy, and we were both thrilled."
Tragically, after Becky miraculously conceived using John's sperm that had been frozen for 22 years, John's cancer cells made a fifth comeback. When Becky was seven months pregnant, John's abdomen began to swell. Tests revealed that he had developed a very rare type of cancer. A tumor in his chest caused thrombosis, pulmonary vascular obstruction, and a stroke. Becky recalled, "We were both shocked. We cried every day for weeks. Finally, we decided to face all challenges optimistically because we didn't want to ruin the remaining time we had together."
The "time-traveling baby" is born healthy
Doctors worried that John might not survive the fifth recurrence of cancer and might not even live to see the birth of his child. However, after receiving treatment, John's condition stabilized temporarily. Two weeks ago, Becky underwent a cesarean section at 38 weeks of pregnancy and gave birth to Joseph, the "time-traveling baby," allowing the cancer-stricken John to finally meet his son while still alive.
John told reporters excitedly, "Watching the doctor perform a cesarean section on my wife scared me more than having cancer. Then the doctor handed my son to me — I couldn’t believe my eyes holding a child conceived with my 22-year-old frozen sperm. Now, every time I look at him, I can't believe what has happened. From the moment he was handed to me, I've called him my 'miracle baby'—his birth truly is a miracle!"
Looking forward to living to celebrate Christmas with his son
John is still undergoing chemotherapy, and doctors remain pessimistic about his prognosis. However, John still gets up at 3 a.m. to help his wife change diapers and feed their hungry newborn. Becky said, "Not many fathers undergoing chemotherapy would get up at 3 a.m. to help feed their child, but John does." John explained, "Regardless, I still consider myself very lucky — soldiers die in Afghanistan all the time, and I’m still alive. Doctors say there are only about 40 cases globally of my rare cancer, and only one patient survived. One is enough for me. I don’t want to go anywhere; I just want to be with my wife and child. My next milestone is to live until this year’s Christmas. I plan to install an electric reindeer in the garden, and I can’t wait to spend this Christmas with my miracle baby."
It is reported that Becky's pregnancy using her husband's sperm frozen for 22 years has set a record in the history of British medicine! However, the world record for pregnancy using the oldest frozen sperm belongs to the United States, where a woman once gave birth to a child using sperm frozen for 28 years. In 2004, a couple from Manchester, UK, gave birth to a baby boy using sperm frozen for 21 years. In 2008, Wayne and Kelly Coon from Zados Landing, Australia, also gave birth to a "miracle baby girl" using sperm frozen for 21 years.
Written by Lan Xi