So, did you hear about the celebrity sperm donor service earlier this week, set up by a company allegedly offering "celebrity sperm" to anyone who needed to use a donor? A number of journalists from reputable newspapers and other outlets around the world were taken in and ran features on the company whose website featured alleged donors such as an Oscar-winning actor, a former Premiership footballer and an aristocrat with a seat in the House of Lords. The ITV show This Morning even ran a studio interview with an actor claiming to be the man behind the company.
The company's website claimed the celebrities had decided to donate sperm because they had friends or family who had experienced fertility problems and that potential clients would be able to choose to have a child with the inherited character traits of a Formula One racing driver, a leading entrepreneur or scientist.
It has now, unsurprisingly, been revealed to be a hoax, set up by a TV production company for an entertainment programme. The company claimed that the hoax aimed to highlight the sometimes detrimental impact of social media on the news culture. It is difficult to see why they decided to create a hoax sperm donor service in order to do this or what the allegedly "serious" side of this might be.
I'm still getting sent links to pieces about this new 'service' written by people who have yet to learn about the hoax. The TV company in question clearly thought this hoax was a great joke and are doubtless congratulating themselves on a jolly jape. I'm afraid to me it just shows the total lack of sympathy and respect many people have for those who experience fertility problems - can you imagine the outcry if this hoax had featured a treatment for any other kind of medical condition?
Showing posts with label male infertility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label male infertility. Show all posts
Friday, 19 October 2012
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
How do your sperm swim?
Male fertility problems are sometimes caused by sperm not moving properly - but although scientists can see if sperm aren't moving or are swimming backwards, their normal patterns of movement are not usually closely monitored. Now, scientists in the States have tracked sperm using 3D techniques to see exactly how they move. They followed 1, 500 sperm, monitoring how they swam to try to understand more about their motility and found that rather than swimming in completely straight lines, most follow slightly curved routes, and a small percentage will swim in circular whirls...
You can read more about the research on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
You can read more about the research on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Could walnuts improve male fertility?
A new study from the States has found that men who ate 2.5 ounces of walnuts a day showed an improvement in their sperm vitality, motility and morphology. It seems that walnuts are a very good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids which are known to be important for sperm production, and are also a good natural plant source of omega 3 - which may explain the results.
The researchers only looked at healthy young men, who were under the age of 35 and who didn't have existing fertility problems, so it cannot be said with certainty that the results would be the same in older men who were trying unsuccessfully to start a family - but having said that, if you don't have a nut allergy and don't mind eating walnuts, there's certainly nothing to be lost and potentially everything to be gained - the team set the level of walnuts to be eaten very precisely in order to ensure maximum benefit without the risk of putting on weight!
There has been much debate in recent years about how our lifestyles might be affecting our fertility and whether a Western diet could have a negative impact - and this new research provides food for thought... You can read more here
Friday, 11 May 2012
The men's room
Those of you who have ever been to a fertility clinic will know exactly what I am talking about - the place where you are sent to "produce your sample". They aren't places any of us tend to think about too much - and that we'd only manage to talk about with fertility friends after a glass or two...
When I was researching my first ever book about infertility some fifteen years ago, I interviewed a dozen or so couples and two of the men had been to the same clinic, with the same men's room which had clearly had quite an impact as they both told me about it in great detail during the interviews. Not about the room itself, but about the key which was attached to what they both described as a "plank of wood". To go to the men's room you had first to collect the key, and then walk right through the clinic carrying this thing that you couldn't disguise so that it was clear to all where you were going and what for. For the same book, another man told me about being sent to the men's toilets in a local hospital to produce a sample where an old man kept coughing in the next cubicle and where the doors left his legs and head visible to anyone who happened to come in.
I was reminded of this today during a brilliant presentation at the British Infertility Counselling Associations Study Day by photographer Aaron Deemer, who has been touring the country taking photos of the men's rooms in clinics. The idea sounds utterly bizarre, but hearing Aaron talk, you soon understand that his personal experience has led him to discover a truly unique way of getting people talking about infertility. The photos themselves are fascinating - a selection of very different rooms; some cold and clinical, others designed to try to look vaguely appealing but rarely succeeding. There's one slightly sinister room with what looks like a dentist's chair surrounded by downlit spotlights, another had what Aaron described as a "fake plastic cannabis plant" plonked in the middle of a room full of chairs that doubled up as the staff conference room. There was a room that Aaron said reminded him of his teenage bedroom with a narrow bed and patterned curtains. One room had bars at the window, another had a phallic photo of the Eiffel Tower on the wall.
Aaron's project is called "Please Make Yourself Uncomfortable" and if you get the chance to hear Aaron talk or to see the photos, don't miss the opportunity. He manages to access something we often find difficult to talk about and to present it in such a way that it encourages discussion.
When I was researching my first ever book about infertility some fifteen years ago, I interviewed a dozen or so couples and two of the men had been to the same clinic, with the same men's room which had clearly had quite an impact as they both told me about it in great detail during the interviews. Not about the room itself, but about the key which was attached to what they both described as a "plank of wood". To go to the men's room you had first to collect the key, and then walk right through the clinic carrying this thing that you couldn't disguise so that it was clear to all where you were going and what for. For the same book, another man told me about being sent to the men's toilets in a local hospital to produce a sample where an old man kept coughing in the next cubicle and where the doors left his legs and head visible to anyone who happened to come in.
I was reminded of this today during a brilliant presentation at the British Infertility Counselling Associations Study Day by photographer Aaron Deemer, who has been touring the country taking photos of the men's rooms in clinics. The idea sounds utterly bizarre, but hearing Aaron talk, you soon understand that his personal experience has led him to discover a truly unique way of getting people talking about infertility. The photos themselves are fascinating - a selection of very different rooms; some cold and clinical, others designed to try to look vaguely appealing but rarely succeeding. There's one slightly sinister room with what looks like a dentist's chair surrounded by downlit spotlights, another had what Aaron described as a "fake plastic cannabis plant" plonked in the middle of a room full of chairs that doubled up as the staff conference room. There was a room that Aaron said reminded him of his teenage bedroom with a narrow bed and patterned curtains. One room had bars at the window, another had a phallic photo of the Eiffel Tower on the wall.
Aaron's project is called "Please Make Yourself Uncomfortable" and if you get the chance to hear Aaron talk or to see the photos, don't miss the opportunity. He manages to access something we often find difficult to talk about and to present it in such a way that it encourages discussion.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Healthy diet, healthy sperm...
New research from the States has found that men who have a diet high in saturated fat have considerably lower sperm counts. The researchers followed men attending a fertility clinic and analysed their diet and their sperm over a period of time. It became clear that those who ate more unsaturated fat had markedly lower sperm counts than average, and that those who had diets which were high in omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and plant oils, had higher sperm counts. However, it is important to note that many of those who ate more saturated fat were also overweight, and many of the participants in the study were classified as obese and this could also be playing a part.
What is very apparent is that maintaining a healthy diet and keeping within normal weight parameters is definitely important when it comes to male fertility. All too often, it is assumed that women are the ones who need to make all the lifestyle changes when a couple experiences difficulty conceiving, but this research shows that men need to make just as much effort!
You can find details of the study, published in Human Reproduction, here
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Water pollution and male infertility
We're often told that environmental pollution affects male fertility, but new research strengthens that link as scientists have found testosterone-blocking chemicals in rivers in the UK.
The researchers have found a new group of chemicals in our rivers that inhibit the function of testosterone, and combined with the oestrogen type chemicals we already know are in our water, these have had the effet of "feminising" male fish. This has led to reproductive problems and some male fish have even changed sex. The oestrogens arrive in the water via the sewage system from the contraceptive pill or industrial chemicals, whilst it is not entirely clear where the new group of chemicals originate.
It is thought that there may be a link between what is happening to the fish and the increase in male fertility problems in humans.
You can read more about the research at www.brunel.ac.uk/news
The researchers have found a new group of chemicals in our rivers that inhibit the function of testosterone, and combined with the oestrogen type chemicals we already know are in our water, these have had the effet of "feminising" male fish. This has led to reproductive problems and some male fish have even changed sex. The oestrogens arrive in the water via the sewage system from the contraceptive pill or industrial chemicals, whilst it is not entirely clear where the new group of chemicals originate.
It is thought that there may be a link between what is happening to the fish and the increase in male fertility problems in humans.
You can read more about the research at www.brunel.ac.uk/news
Monday, 11 February 2008
Tomatoes and male fertility
I've just been reading about a new book that claims tomatoes are the latest superfood. Apparently they not only contain vitamins, but are also high in antioxidants, particularly one known as lycopene. It's the lycopene that gives tomatoes their bright red colour.
The book, The Red Bodyguard by Ron Levin, makes the case for tomatoes helping with all kinds of ailments thanks to the lycopene. It is claimed that they can help men with low sperm counts, and that when a test group were given supplements of lycopene there was a marked improvement in their fertility.
You can read more about the claims in this article in The Telegraph , and you may feel they're just another of the endless claims that if you eat more of this or less of that, it will improve your fertility. However, you're not going to do any harm by increasing your tomato intake, and it may help you ensure you hit your five fruit and veg a day target if nothing else.
The book, The Red Bodyguard by Ron Levin, makes the case for tomatoes helping with all kinds of ailments thanks to the lycopene. It is claimed that they can help men with low sperm counts, and that when a test group were given supplements of lycopene there was a marked improvement in their fertility.
You can read more about the claims in this article in The Telegraph , and you may feel they're just another of the endless claims that if you eat more of this or less of that, it will improve your fertility. However, you're not going to do any harm by increasing your tomato intake, and it may help you ensure you hit your five fruit and veg a day target if nothing else.
Monday, 17 December 2007
New research into causes of male infertility
Researchers in the United States have found evidence that male infertility may have genetic causes which are set from before a man is born.
The team at the University of Southern California looked at sperm DNA from men at fertility clinics, and they found differences between those with fertility problems and those with normal sperm counts. Their findings suggest that the way DNA is processed may be a cause.
The research is quite complicated if you aren't science-minded, but for more details of the study, you can see the press release from the University here
The team at the University of Southern California looked at sperm DNA from men at fertility clinics, and they found differences between those with fertility problems and those with normal sperm counts. Their findings suggest that the way DNA is processed may be a cause.
The research is quite complicated if you aren't science-minded, but for more details of the study, you can see the press release from the University here
Monday, 3 December 2007
Testicle-shrinking bodybuilding drugs
It's believed that tens of thousands of people, mainly men, in the UK are using anabolic steroids to enhance their muscles and their performance at the gym. There's growing concern that it's not just adults, but also teenage boys who are turning to steroids in an attempt to pump up their bodies.
Most of those who use the drugs are completely unaware of the side effects, which include some pretty alarming risks for male fertility. The drugs can cause the testicles to shrink and shrivel up. Sperm production slows down, or can come to a complete halt. What's more alarming, in long-term users these effects may not always be reversible once the drugs are stopped.
Having an excessively muscular body isn't everyone's cup of tea, but more awareness is needed of the dangers of using bodybuilding drugs to achieve that.
Most of those who use the drugs are completely unaware of the side effects, which include some pretty alarming risks for male fertility. The drugs can cause the testicles to shrink and shrivel up. Sperm production slows down, or can come to a complete halt. What's more alarming, in long-term users these effects may not always be reversible once the drugs are stopped.
Having an excessively muscular body isn't everyone's cup of tea, but more awareness is needed of the dangers of using bodybuilding drugs to achieve that.
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