Lab Grown Sperm Could Cure Male Infertility

Sperm has been successfully grown in a test tube for the first time, a breakthrough technology that could eventually help cure male infertility, Japanese scientists said Thursday. In the experiment, researchers at Yokohama City University were able to produce healthy, fertile offspring using the laboratory created sperm. Their findings can be found in the journal Nature. “Until now, none of the attempts have been wholly successful, and when the sperm have been used, the pups born have not been healthy and have soon died,” said Dr. Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, in northern England. The next step is to reproduce the technique in humans as the technology will give new hope to men with low sperm counts or abnormal sperm. “Until now, none of the attempts have been wholly successful, and when the sperm have been used, the pups born have not been healthy and have soon died,” said Dr. Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, in northern England. The findings could also be a boon for young male cancer patients. Because the technique also works when the tissue samples were frozen and thawed again, fertility in young boys could be preserved before they underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy by freezing their sperm