UNAIR NEWS – In 2015, a baby boy named Xavier Powell was born from Australian couples through an in vitro fertelization. Interestingly, the sperm used had been frozen for 23 years.

As reported by www.health.detik.com, Xavier’s father named Alex has long saved his sperm sample using the sperm freezing method in a sperm bank. This is because at the age of 15, Alex was diagnosed with hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that attacked his lymph system.

As he was worried that the chemotherapy process would damage the sperm cells and make them sterile, at the request of the mother, Alex ‘saves’ his sperm using the sperm freezing method. This method was able to maintain the quality of sperm even up to decades. Therefore, from the marriage of Alex and his wife, Xavier who was born later crowned as the baby born from the oldest sperm in the world.

Alex’s story may well represent the success of sperm storage using sperm freezing technique that was accepted as a method to help people who crave offspring but are hindered by medical conditions. What about in Indonesia? According to andrology expert of Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga (FK UNAIR) dr. Aucky Hinting, Ph.D., Sp. and sperm freezing technique has not been fully understood widely to the public.

As we all know,  sperm freezing has long been known as sperm cell storage technique with liquid nitrogen then frozen at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius.

This freezing process stops all chemical reactions in the sperm. So that sperm cells can last long. With this technique, the sperm samples can be stored for decades without storage time restrictions. When needed, the sperm samples can be ‘melted’ back and ready for use in the IVF procedure.

Sperm fluid have a little cytoplasm that is relatively easy to freeze and slightly form crystals. Therefore, despite being frozen for years, the cells will remain alive and undamaged.

As an expert andrologist, Aucky believes this technique allow a person to maintain fertility, especially when there is medical conditions, as experienced by Alex or in other cases, help cancer patients or testicular tumors who have to undergo chemotherapy even surgical removal of the tumor. This technique can also ‘save’ the fertility of men who are single but must undergo chemotherapy.

“When a person’s fertility declines due to chemotherapy or long-term treatment, by saving the seeds from the beginning, at least he still has sperm reserves that can be reused, when the quality of sperm in his body has decreased,” he said.

According to Aucky, before patients undergo surgery, it is better for a doctor to offer sperm sampling storage solution to patients. Unfortunately, it is still constrained by several factors.

“There are some hospitals that have not yet established this sperm  freezing procedure to chemotherapy patients. This technique is also not widely understood by medical personnel, due to lack of information among doctors and the public, “he said.

In addition, the cost of sperm care is also relatively expensive. For the initial price for the first year, the user is charged a fee of around Rp 2.5 million. In the following year, the maintenance fee is Rp 1 million per year.

Psychological factors of the patient is also very important. The majority of cancer patients or other illness focus more on seeking healing himself, and ignore the interests of others.

“Patients facing chemotherapy do not usually think of having children, they are more focused for self-medication. And when it’s healed, they will want to have children, while their fertility has decreased, “he said.

The sperm freezing technique can also help someone who has abnormality for the number of sperm cells. Under these conditions, the amount of sperm produced is limited so in the end it is difficult for successful fertilization.

By using sperm freezing technique, there will be testicular biopsy, diagnosis, examination, sperm retrieval, then the freezing procedure. When it is needed, the sperm sample can be melted and injected into the egg through in vitro fertilization.

“Person with ‘zero’ sperm used to be considered infertile, cannot have children. But now with the help of technology it can be achieved through IVF, “he said.

Abroad, sperm storage is placed in a sperm bank. However, over time, sperm donors through sperm banks slowly decline. Only a few countries still permit the practice of sperm donors.

Currently, the majority of couples who want a baby tend to switch to sperm freezing technique before starting an IVF treatment so the seeds planted in the womb are no longer from others, but from their own life partner.

In Indonesia, sperm banks are not allowed. However Prof. Aucky stressed the utilization of sperm freezing technique  to save the fertility of a person to continue to have offspring despite being constrained medical conditions.

“I hope this technique can be disseminated more broadly. So the public gain insight and hope to have a descendant, even though his fertility is threatened due to chemotherapy and long-term treatment experienced, “he said. (*)

Author: Sefya Hayu Istighfaricha

Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh