The number of couples seeking fertility treatments in the U.S. has increased 33% over the past five years.
It’s a fact that fertility decreases sharply for women between the ages of 35 and 40. At age 30, there’s a one in five chance of getting pregnant per cycle. By age 40, it drops to one in 20.
But fertility issues are not just a woman’s problem.
In fact, the older the man is when fathering a child, the harder it is to conceive and have a healthy baby.
Saul Alvarez never thought he’d live to see this day.
“I was told I was never gonna be able to have kids,” he said.
It was a long hard road to get here. Alvarez lost his first child, a little girl, and her mother, in a drunk driving accident. Then Alvarez was diagnosed with cancer, twice.
While still battling cancer, Alvarez fell in love, got married and started thinking about having another child. But chemo was a problem.
“My sperm count went from being healthy to being completely at zero. That was a big shock for me,” Alvarez said.
Another issue, Alvarez’s age. He was in his mid-50s. Male Infertility Specialist Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy says that after age 40, a man’s sperm begins to mutate.
“The number of mutations in sperm continues to accumulate. There are more genetic changes that the body doesn’t correct anymore,” Ramasamy said.
The most common conditions associated with advanced paternal age are neuropsychiatric disorders. There is also an increased risk for leukemia and lymphomas.
A 2021 study found that when a male in a couple was over 40, there were 20% to 40% more miscarriages.
Ramasamy used medications used in women to boost egg counts to boost hormones in the pituitary glands and testosterone levels for Alvarez. After a year and a half of fertility treatments, Alvarez was able to meet his son, Alexander Rama Alvarez.
Alexander’s middle name, Rama, is in honor of the doctor who helped make Alvarez’s dream of becoming a father again a reality.
Alvarez is now in full remission from his cancer and is not ruling out the possibility of adding to his family.
Ramasamy said it’s just as important for men as it is for women to think about fertility preservation in their 20s. Frozen sperm is good for up to 15 years after it’s initially frozen and the recovery rate for sperm after being frozen is up to 95%.