A Briton became a father at the age of 47 thanks to the sperm he had frozen in 1996 when he was suffering from a cancer of the lymphatic system called Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Explanations.
- The first baby born from in vitro fertilization in France dates from 1982.
- Since then, more than 400,000 children have been born via this method in the country according to INED.
“I find it hard to tell myself that he is now hereexplains Peter Hickles, a Briton about his son to the newspaper The Sun. I am such a lucky father. I can’t stop looking at it and I can’t believe it. It really is a small miracle (…) It’s amazing to think he was in a freezer this whole time.“.
Dad diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system at a very young age
Indeed, the newborn remained at “freezer” for 26 years. He was born this year from in vitro fertilization (IVF) carried out using sperm that Peter Hickles had frozen in 1996. At the time, the Briton, aged just over 20, was suffering from cancer of the lymphatic system, Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
According the Gustave Roussy Institute, this disease “is linked to the uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal B cells called Reed-Sternberg cells” and “is manifested by an increase in the size of the lymph nodes, most often in the neck. These nodes are not painful and their evolution is slow. This is accompanied in some cases by weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, fever and itching”.
IVF 26 years after freezing
Before starting chemotherapy treatments, Peter Hickles had his sperm frozen. A good decision because he then became infertile. Nevertheless, at the time, freezing specialists warned him: the sample deposited in 1996 should only be viable until 2006 at the most. And the quality of sperm will decline over the years.
However, it was 26 years later that Peter Hickles and his companion decided to use part of this sample, and it was a success. As there remains frozen sperm, the couple intends to soon try to have a second child and thus contradict all the scientific prognoses!
