Healthy baby born 22 years after father's sperm was frozen

Twenty two years after his sperm was frozen because he had leukaemia, a man has fathered a healthy baby girl.

In 1986 teenager Chris Biblis was 16 when he was struck down with leukaemia and underwent life-saving radiotherapy treatment for the disease.

As the radiotherapy would render him sterile, doctors took a sample of his sperm and placed it into cryogenic storage for future use, encouraged by his family even though there was no treatment for male infertility at the time.

After a record 22 years the sperm was defrosted and injected by scientists into an egg from wife Melodie and then implanted in her uterus - the result was baby Stella Biblis.

Now 38, Chris Biblis is celebrating the birth of a healthy baby daughter, born March 4, 2009 after a 22-year lapse between storage in April 1986 and conception in June 2008.

The event marks a world record, according to fertility specialists at the clinic where the procedure was carried out, Reproductive Endocrinology Associates of Charlotte (REACH) and they say it is a demonstration of how infertility treatment has improved in that sperm can remain viable for decades if they are preserved in liquid nitrogen.

Mr Biblis, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is now in remission, having been clinically disease-free for more than 20 years and says the baby represents a miracle.

The method used to create Stella was not in practice when Mr Biblis gave the sample in 1986 during his six-year battle against leukaemia and it was not until 1992 that intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) - by which scientists carefully select a healthy sperm cell and insert it into an egg in the laboratory - was successfully pioneered.

This technique carries an increased chance of conception beyond conventional IVF procedures, in which sperm and eggs are mixed in the laboratory to fertilise spontaneously, and was used because only 35% of Mr Biblis's sperm cells were deemed viable after thawing.

Doctors selected the best of the remaining cells and injected them into ten eggs harvested from Mrs Biblis, of which seven fertilised successfully in the laboratory - two of the embryos were implanted, but only one survived, and five remain in storage, allowing the couple the option of having more children.

Fertility specialist Dr. Richard L. Wing says though there was every reason to expect a perfect baby they are nonetheless thrilled.

Dr. Wing, the founder of REACH says there was no concern about working with old sperm as bovine and equine sperm has been frozen for long periods and has resulted in successful gestations.

Biblis now shares cyropreservation history with Ken Decker, whose daughter Madison was born in August 2008 from sperm Decker froze before undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease when he was 24.

The 21-year span between both men's sperm cryopreservation and their daughters births rank as two of the longest periods of time for conception on medical record.

REACH is led by a nationally recognized team of six physicians, all long-time practitioners in Charlotte, who are widely respected for their superior pregnancy success rates - among the highest in the region -- and for the finest patient care. REACH is a member of IntegraMed, an exclusive network of fertility practices nationwide. For more information, visit www.REACHdrs.com.