Due to his decision nine years ago to freeze sperm before beginning chemotherapy, a man who was rendered infertile by cancer treatment is now a father.
Hodgkins lymphoma was discovered in Ipswich resident Nick Foster, 33.
Their son Branimir (Bran) was born at the local hospital after his wife Gergana (Geri) underwent IVF treatment.
He said, "I wouldn't be a dad today and wouldn't have my fantastic little boy if I hadn't said 'yes' to sperm freezing when I was 24.
When Mr. Foster first noticed the lumps on his neck, he was a bachelor and an independent man.
His consultant informed him that chemotherapy would prevent him from having children because it would reduce sperm because the cancer had spread to his lungs and bone marrow.
Before beginning treatment, the NHS sent him to the Colchester fertility clinic Bourn Hall to have some sperm frozen.
At that time in his life, he admitted, "having kids wasn't even on the radar. I'd always known I'd like to have kids one day.
The possibility of sperm freezing for future IVF was truly amazing as a backup when I learned that, in addition to receiving a cancer diagnosis, I would likely end up infertile. " .
He claimed that following treatment, he had recovered and been "fully discharged," despite having "zero sperm count.".
He first met Gergana in 2016, and the two later got married and began IVF under the NHS's sponsorship in January 2022. She got pregnant a few weeks later.
His wife remarked, "Every morning when he [Branimir] sees his dad, he gets so excited, more so than with anyone else.".
"It is amazing how they have such a unique bond. ".
If appropriate, sperm or egg freezing before chemotherapy can give a patient the choice to try for a child later using IVF if their chemotherapy renders them infertile, according to Dr. Arpita Ray, lead clinician for Bourn Hall's Essex clinics.
. "
