5 years of helping families – Bran’s dad’s foresight gave him a son
18 Dec 2023
Branimir was born nearly 10 years after his dad froze his sperm; now he joins other IVF babies to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Bourn Hall’s Essex clinic in Wickford with the world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown.
Bran’s dad Nick was single and only 24 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was asked if he wanted to freeze some sperm.
The cancer treatment was successful and, now 33 with wife Geri, Nick says it was the best thing he could have done. “If I hadn’t said yes to sperm freezing when I was 24 I wouldn’t have my fantastic little boy.”
Looking back now, Nick says he is eternally grateful to his cancer specialist for giving him the option nine years ago to freeze sperm and has the following advice for other young men faced with a cancer diagnosis and asked to make a quick decision prior to starting chemo about fertility preservation:
“Freeze your sperm, it is a no brainer,” he says.
“If I hadn’t said yes to sperm freezing when I was 24 I wouldn’t have my fantastic little boy.”
Fertility preservation ahead of cancer treatment
Chemotherapy affects both female and male fertility: in women it can stop the ovaries from working and can cause an early menopause; in men it can reduce the number of sperm produced or affect the sperm’s ability to fertilise an egg.
Bourn Hall has a state-of-the-art cryopreservation service and to keep open your chances of having a family in the future, we offer comprehensive freezing programmes for eggs, sperm and embryos.
“Fertility treatment can be a very emotional journey,” says Dr Arpita Ray, Lead Clinician at Bourn Hall Essex. “So to throw the curve-ball of cancer into the mix makes it even more so. We find that many of the cancer patients who come to us for sperm, embryo or egg freezing get a reassuring sense of asserting some control of one aspect of their life when they might be facing some really tough times ahead.”
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“We went to an open evening at Bourn Hall Wickford and came away feeling really positive about the place. The staff were really friendly and the presentation was clear about the statistics regarding success rates and live birth rates; their data was very transparent. We came away feeling like we would really be looked after.”
Katy and Leigh are parents to Charlie after IVF
Patient 2023
“We chose to make an appointment at Bourn Hall Wickford because of the favourable reviews. When we got there and met the staff they were just so lovely, making us feel welcome and explaining to us what tests would need to be done and what our options were; we just thought ‘yes, let’s get the ball rolling!”
Jess and Fran are mums to Nathan after IVF with donor sperm
Patient 2023