Dundee, Scotland – Abertay University’s Dr. Kevin Smith says freezing sperm should become the norm. The biochemist argued that the rising average age men become fathers could also contribute to the rise in autism and other differences and diseases.
In the 1990s the average age men started families was 31, today it’s 33 and up. Dr. Smith told BBC News that:
“It’s time we took seriously the issue of paternal age and its effect on the next generation of children.”
He added that 18 is the prime age men should start banking their sperm. The cost is relatively low at only £150-200 a year with NHS banks offering cheaper prices.
University of Sheffield’s professor of andrology Allan Pacy told BBC news that:
“This is one of the most ridiculous suggestions I have heard in a long time,”
and that the risks of autism and the like occurring because of late fatherhood were “really quite small.”
He went on to add that:
“We know that the sperm from the majority of men won’t freeze very well, which is one of the reasons why sperm donors are in short supply.”
If men in their 40s did turn to their youthful swimmer for children, they’d have to be convinced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) which has a low success rate.