A MAN whose sperm was frozen for almost 27 years has revealed how he became the proud dad of twins – and a world record holder.
The musician wanted to keep his chances of becoming a dad alive after being diagnosed with cancer when he was just 21.
Doctors told him chemotherapy treatment would make him infertile so his sperm was frozen for 26 years and 243 days – the oldest sperm ever successfully used for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
When he met his partner he had to explain that she would need IVF if they were to have children.
The couple, who live in Glasgow, did not use the sperm until 2010, when he was 47 and she was 37. She became pregnant with twins and the boy and girl were born in 2011.
The musician, who asked not to be named, knew he held the record for the oldest sperm used in successful IVF but did not want publicity.
However, when the Scot discovered he could be listed anonymously by Guinness World Records he came forward and recently had his record accepted.
The proud father has now spoken out to highlight how long sperm can be frozen to create healthy children.
He said: “People going through chemotherapy should keep hope.”
“When we finally saw on a scan we were having twins I was in shock.
“I kept looking for a third heartbeat, thinking we might even be having triplets.”
The case raises the prospect of sperm being frozen with no time limit.
According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority the standard storage period for sperm is normally 10 years, although in certain circumstances it can be kept for up to 55 years.
The man’s sperm was stored at an NHS lab in Edinburgh before his chemotherapy and, more than two decades later, used in the landmark treatment carried out at the GCRM fertility clinic in Glasgow by medical director Dr Marco Gaudoin.
Dr Gaudoin said: “Theoretically, it could be stored indefinitely.”
It is another world first for the fertility specialist who helped a same-sex couple become the first in Scotland to father twins by IVF.
Last week The Sunday Post revealed how cancer survivor Ryan Walker and his partner Chris Watson, from Falkirk, are expecting the patter of tiny feet in the next few weeks, thanks to a surrogate mother who is also in a same-sex relationship.
Ryan, 32, and Chris, 28, were turned down by several IVF clinics in Scotland because they are in a gay relationship. The surrogate mum volunteered to help for free after she had a child using a donor.
In recent years the clinic has hit the headlines for its trailblazing achievements.
In 2013 the centre produced the first baby born in Scotland using new Early Embryo Viability Assessment technology.
And in October 2008, the clinic scored a world first when a baby boy was born as a direct use of a new fertility drug, Pergoveris.
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