Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Grandad donates sperm for 'grandchild'
A 72-year-old British man is to donate his sperm to his daughter-in-law, allowing her to become a mother and produce a "grandchild", fertility authorities said.
The unnamed man is donating his sperm because his son and daughter-in-law's attempts at IVF treatment failed due to the poor quality of the husband's sperm, according to London's Evening Standard newspaper.
"It's not uncommon for someone in the family to donate, although normally the age limit for sperm donors is 45," said a spokesperson for Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has advised the clinic overseeing the 72-year-old's donation.
"What's uncommon in this case is the donor's age."
The donated sperm is being handled by the London Women's Clinic, where the couple are having treatment.
Dr Peter Bowen-Simkins, a director of the clinic, told the Evening Standard the couple and the grandparents-to-be had undergone counselling to prepare them for the arrival of a child produced in such an unusual way.
"I've certainly never come across a case like this before," Bowen-Simkins told the paper.
"In this case, keeping the genetic identity of the child similar to their own was a huge factor. The husband does not have a brother which is why he chose his own father to assist."
Experts said they had no ethical problems with the man donating his sperm, but did have medical concerns about the health of the child.
"What worries me are the genetic risks to the child because of the quality of the donor's sperm, given his age," said Dr Alan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology (male fertility) at Sheffield University.
Pacey said the man's age could reduce the chances of the donation working, increase the chances of the woman having a miscarriage and also increase the likelihood that the child produced inherits a genetic condition, such as autism, Down's Syndrome or dwarfism.
The unnamed man is donating his sperm because his son and daughter-in-law's attempts at IVF treatment failed due to the poor quality of the husband's sperm, according to London's Evening Standard newspaper.
"It's not uncommon for someone in the family to donate, although normally the age limit for sperm donors is 45," said a spokesperson for Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has advised the clinic overseeing the 72-year-old's donation.
"What's uncommon in this case is the donor's age."
The donated sperm is being handled by the London Women's Clinic, where the couple are having treatment.
Dr Peter Bowen-Simkins, a director of the clinic, told the Evening Standard the couple and the grandparents-to-be had undergone counselling to prepare them for the arrival of a child produced in such an unusual way.
"I've certainly never come across a case like this before," Bowen-Simkins told the paper.
"In this case, keeping the genetic identity of the child similar to their own was a huge factor. The husband does not have a brother which is why he chose his own father to assist."
Experts said they had no ethical problems with the man donating his sperm, but did have medical concerns about the health of the child.
"What worries me are the genetic risks to the child because of the quality of the donor's sperm, given his age," said Dr Alan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology (male fertility) at Sheffield University.
Pacey said the man's age could reduce the chances of the donation working, increase the chances of the woman having a miscarriage and also increase the likelihood that the child produced inherits a genetic condition, such as autism, Down's Syndrome or dwarfism.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The dangers of being an older dad
Women with older partners may be at higher risk of suffering miscarriages irrespective of their own age, according to a study that has linked the increased chance of a failed pregnancy with men over the age of 40.
Until now it was widely assumed that miscarriage rates largely increased with female age only, but a study into women undergoing artificial insemination with their partner's sperm has found that it can also be linked with older men. Scientists also found that pregnancy rates fell as the male partner gets older. This may reflect a decline in sperm quality in men over 40 that affects both the chances of conception and the increased risk of a miscarriage, they said. It is the first time scientists have discovered such a strong paternal effect on rates of pregnancy and miscarriage, and they suggest that, in future, fertility clinics should look more closely at the age of men as well as the age of women when advising on treatment.
Stephanie Belloc, of the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction in Paris, said: "Until now … the message was to get pregnant before the age of 35 or 38 because afterwards it would be difficult. But now the gynaecologists must also focus on paternal age and give this information to the couple.
'Fertility clinics should look more closely at the age of men' "We suggest that there is a link between paternal age and DNA decay in the spermatozoa because we previously demonstrated that age is associated with increased sperm DNA fragmentation. So maybe there is a link between paternal age and DNA decay that are implied in the miscarriages.
"I think it's important to consider not only the woman, but both members of the couple in natural conception, but also in assisted reproductive technology [such as artificial insemination and IVF]."
The scientists analysed data gathered at a fertility clinic that performs artificial inseminations directly into a woman's uterus, a technique which improves the conception rate.
They followed up 21,239 cases of these intrauterine inseminations to see whether the age of the man or the woman had any significant effect on the chances of conception and miscarriage.
As expected, they found maternal age was a strong factor in pregnancy rates, with just 8.9 percent of women over the age of 35 getting pregnant, compared with 14.5 percent in younger women.
'We also found that the age of the father was important in pregnancy rates' "But we also found that the age of the father was important in pregnancy rates - men over 35 had a negative effect," said Belloc.
"And, perhaps more surprisingly, miscarriage rates increased where the father was over 35."
The study - the results of which were to be released at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona - found the miscarriage rate among women with partners aged between 35 and 39 was 18.1 percent, but 33 percent for the partners of men aged between 40 and 44.
Couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology where the man is older than 35 or 40 should consider using the technique of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), for directly injecting single sperm into an egg, because then the best sperm could be chosen for fertilisation, Belloc said.
"It's the conclusion of my study that ICSI should be the [technology] of choice when paternal age is increasing because we can choose the best spermatozoa.
"We can choose spermatozoa without DNA fragmentation, and DNA fragmentation is increasing with paternal age. So it is a way to be free of paternal age."
Older dads
TV presenter Des O'Connor's wife, the Australian singer-songwriter Jodie Brooke Wilson (35), gave birth to their son Adam in September 2004. O'Connor, then 72, claimed: "It felt like the right time."
US presidential hopeful John McCain was 48 when he and his wife Cindy had their first child together, the now-award-winning blogger Meghan McCain. They have since had two more.
There were a few sleepless nights at the Playboy mansion in the early 1990s when a sexagenarian Hugh Heffner fathered sons Marston and Cooper by his fiancee Kimberley Conrad.
When Leo Blair was born in 2000, 47-year-old Tony became the first serving prime minister to have a baby in more than 150 years.
Actor David Jason became a dad for the first time aged 61 when his daughter, Sophie Mae, was born.
A 56-year-old Michael Douglas welcomed Dylan Michel into the world in 2000, then married the mother, Catherine Zeta-Jones, soon afterwards. The couple had a daughter three years later.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day
In spite of what you have been told by everyone, the truth is that Valentine's Day originated hundreds of years ago, in India, and to top it all, in the state of Gujarat !!!
It is a well known fact that Gujarati men, specially the Patels, continually mistreat and disrespect their wives (Patelianis). One fine day, it happened to be the 14th day of February, one brave Patelani, having had enough "torture" by her husband, finally chose to rebel by beating him up with a Velan (rolling pin to make chapattis). Yes....the same Velan which she used daily, to make chapattis for him.... only this time, instead of the dough, it was the husband who was flattened.
This was a momentous occasion for all Gujarati women and a revolt soon spread, like wild fire, with thousands of housewives beating up their husbands with the Velan. There was an outburst of moaning "chapatti-ed" husbands all over Anand and Amdavad.
The Patel men-folk quickly learnt their lesson and started to behave more respectfully with their Patelanis.
Thereafter, on 14th February every year, the womenfolk of Gujarat would beat up their husbands, to commemorate that eventful day - the wives having the satisfaction of beating up their husbands with the Velan and the men having the supreme joy of submitting to the will of the women they loved.
Soon The Gujju men realised that in order to avoid this ordeal they need to present gifts to their wives....they brought flowers and sweets. This is how the tradition - Velan time - began.
As Gujarat fell under the influence of Western culture, the ritual soon spread to Britain and many other Western countries, specifically, the catch words 'Velan time' !!! In course of time, their foreign tongues, this got anglisized to 'Velantime' and then to 'Valentine'.
And thereafter, 14th of February, came to be known as Valentine's Day and now you know the true story of Valentine's day.
It is a well known fact that Gujarati men, specially the Patels, continually mistreat and disrespect their wives (Patelianis). One fine day, it happened to be the 14th day of February, one brave Patelani, having had enough "torture" by her husband, finally chose to rebel by beating him up with a Velan (rolling pin to make chapattis). Yes....the same Velan which she used daily, to make chapattis for him.... only this time, instead of the dough, it was the husband who was flattened.
This was a momentous occasion for all Gujarati women and a revolt soon spread, like wild fire, with thousands of housewives beating up their husbands with the Velan. There was an outburst of moaning "chapatti-ed" husbands all over Anand and Amdavad.
The Patel men-folk quickly learnt their lesson and started to behave more respectfully with their Patelanis.
Thereafter, on 14th February every year, the womenfolk of Gujarat would beat up their husbands, to commemorate that eventful day - the wives having the satisfaction of beating up their husbands with the Velan and the men having the supreme joy of submitting to the will of the women they loved.
Soon The Gujju men realised that in order to avoid this ordeal they need to present gifts to their wives....they brought flowers and sweets. This is how the tradition - Velan time - began.
As Gujarat fell under the influence of Western culture, the ritual soon spread to Britain and many other Western countries, specifically, the catch words 'Velan time' !!! In course of time, their foreign tongues, this got anglisized to 'Velantime' and then to 'Valentine'.
And thereafter, 14th of February, came to be known as Valentine's Day and now you know the true story of Valentine's day.
Friday, February 13, 2009
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