A 27-year-old man managed to produce sperm after receiving testicular tissue removed and frozen when he was ten years old. The case is the first to demonstrate that testicular tissue preserved before puberty can produce sperm again in adulthood.
In 2008, the patient underwent chemotherapy to treat sickle cell disease before undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Before the start After treatment, doctors removed one of the testicles, divided the tissue into small fragments and preserved it through cryopreservation.
The technique was used because boys before puberty do not yet produce sperm, which prevents semen from being frozen before treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
In adults, semen freezing is already used to preserve fertility before treatments that can cause infertility.
Years later, researchers placed eight fragments of the preserved tissue back into the patient’s body. Four were placed in the remaining testicle and four others under the pele of the scrotum. After one year in the body, the grafts were removed for laboratory analysis.
Researchers found mature sperm in two of thenxdevices implanted inside the testíass. The cells were collected and frozen.
“The isolated sperm appeared normal”said Ellen Goossensresearcher at Free University of Brussels and responsible for the test, in statements to The Guardian.
The expert added that the team still needs to confirm whether sperm can fertilize an egg.
“This is a huge discovery. Many more people will have hope of being able to have biological children,” he said. Goossens.
New hope for fertility
The results were published in a preliminary article (), still without peer review, and released by the The Guardian. The study was conducted by in Belgium, institution that leads the investmentigation on fertility preservation in boys undergoing aggressive treatments.
Treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy increase the chances of survival in serious illnesses, but can permanently compromise fertility.
From 2002, Belgian clinic began storing testicular tissue from patients pre-pubertalat a time when the technique was still only in the experimental phase on animals.
Testicular tissue removed before puberty contains cells that can later give rise to spermas well as other cells that help with sperm development.
“There is now proof of concept in humans that this approach will work, which is remarkable,” he said. Rod Mitchell, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Edinburgh, The Guardian.
In vitro fertilization
Despite the progress, Experts point out that the sperm produced cannot naturally reach the semen, because the grafts are not connected to the transport channels. Therefore, any attempt at pregnancy requires the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques.
IVF is a Medically Assisted Procreation (PMA) technique used to help people with fertility difficulties by fertilizing the egg in the laboratory before transferring the embryo to the uterus.
