London, Jan 3 (IANS) For the first time in the world, researchers have grown mouse sperm from a few cells in a lab potentially paving the way for infertile men to father their own children.
Stefan Schlatt, professor at Muenster University in Germany and his team were able to grow sperm by using germ cells – cells in testicles responsible for sperm production.
They grew the sperm by surrounding the germ cells in a special compound called agar jelly to create an environment akin to that of the testicles.
Mahmoud Huleihel, professor at Ben Gurion University in Israel, who also grew the sperm, said: ‘I believe it will eventually be possible to routinely grow human male sperm to order by extracting tissue containing germ cells from a man’s testicles and stimulating sperm production in the laboratory.’
Now, the scientists who made the discovery have begun experiments that will hopefully lead to the ‘Holy Grail’ – human sperm grown outside a man’s body.
Stephen Gordon, UK based male infertility consultant, praised the breakthrough. ‘This is an amazing development that could revolutionise fertility treatment and allow every man to be a natural father,’ he said.
The problem of male infertility has grown over the last 50 years and has been matched by huge decrease in sperm counts in men. Some of this has been attributed to environmental factors such as pollution and female hormones appearing in plastic packaging.
