The only son underwent four infertility treatments.

As the only son in the family and the eldest grandson of the entire lineage, the inability to have children due to a lack of sperm came as a huge shock to Toan.

Mr. Phan Toan (32 years old, from Tien Giang province) got married in 2018, but a year after the wedding, he still hadn't conceived, even though the couple didn't use any contraception. When he went to Ho Chi Minh City for a reproductive health check-up, he was shocked to be informed that he was infertile due to the absence of sperm in his semen.

For the next three years, the couple went for checkups, took medication, and received nutritional supplements. It was determined that they had sperm, but all were abnormal. They underwent in-vitro fertilization (IVF) three times at two different hospitals, all of which failed. Mr. Toan underwent testicular microsurgery to extract sperm for IVF, but this also proved unsuccessful.

"In all three IVF attempts, the doctors recommended using donor sperm. As the only son in the family and the eldest grandson of the entire clan, this was like a bolt from the blue for me. My wife and I were both heartbroken and couldn't accept it," Toan said.

The pressure to have a male heir weighs heavily on the shoulders of this only son. "I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to be a father, especially when my parents are getting old and still haven't held their grandchildren," he shared.

During family gatherings, hearing people ask "Have you had children yet?", "When will you have them?"... made Toan and his wife even more stressed. "Sometimes, my wife and I don't dare go out because we feel that we're already unfortunate enough to be infertile, and now we're also suffering emotionally. There was a time when I wanted to give up, but my wife encouraged me to continue 'looking for a child'," Toan said.

Doctor Le Xuan Nguyen visits the child of Mr. and Mrs. Toan before the baby is discharged from the hospital. Photo: Huu Toan

In April 2022, they sought help from the In Vitro Fertilization and Reproductive Support Center at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (IVFTA-HCMC). Dr. Le Dang Khoa, Head of the Andrology Unit, explained that Mr. Toan had undergone micro-TESE just a week prior, so the doctors decided not to prescribe this technique for the patient for another three months to allow the testicles time to recover.

Toan underwent a semen analysis. The results showed 99% immotile sperm, 85% abnormal sperm with short, truncated tails, and 1% sperm with small heads and no acrosome (a structure at the head of the sperm, essentially an enzyme that erodes the egg's outer layer to allow the sperm to swim in and fertilize the egg).

"In the remaining 1% of motile sperm, if just a few sperm meet quality standards, we are confident we can help the patient conceive," Dr. Khoa said, adding that at that moment, they decided to collect and store the patient's small number of sperm. This strategy helps reduce costs, pain, and testicular damage compared to performing another micro-TESE surgery.

Two weeks later, Toan's test results showed a significant decline, putting him at risk of azoospermia. Dr. Le Dang Khoa once again accelerated the process, successfully collecting and freezing five sperm samples for the patient.

Meanwhile, Dr. Le Xuan Nguyen, IVFTA-HCMC, developed an ovarian stimulation protocol for the wife, resulting in 10 mature eggs. Lab specialists thawed the sperm, carefully selected the rare, complete sperm cells, and used them for in-vitro fertilization with the wife's fresh eggs, creating 4 high-quality embryos.

Ms. Linh, Mr. Toan's wife, is happy with her child after 5 years of infertility treatment. Photo: Huu Toan

In October 2022, Thuy Linh, Toan's wife, received the joyful news of her pregnancy on her first embryo transfer. Their baby boy, Phan Ly Dat, weighing 2.4 kg, was born prematurely and received intensive care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). After nearly a week, he was discharged in good health, strong and robust, comparable to a full-term baby.

Holding his son in his arms, Mr. Toan's eyes welled up with tears: "There were times when my wife and I thought all hope was lost with the sperm donation option, but luckily, fortune smiled upon us. Our son is the gift we've been searching for for five years."

Ms. Linh said that ever since hearing the news that she and her husband were expecting a healthy baby boy, both families have been overjoyed and have frequently offered encouragement and support. On the day she gave birth, relatives from both sides of the family traveled long distances to visit the newborn baby.

For Linh, besides the joy of becoming a mother for the first time after many years, she also felt relieved to have finally gotten rid of the burden of having an heir to continue the family line. She and her husband still have three embryos stored at the hospital and plan to continue with IVF to have more children and make their family even larger.

The only son underwent four infertility treatments.

Ms. Thuy Linh shares her journey of "finding a child". Video : Tam Anh General Hospital

According to statistics, Vietnam currently has over one million infertile couples, with 40% of cases due to male factors. The causes can include various common medical conditions such as varicocele, urinary tract infections, sexual or ejaculation disorders, congenital defects, chromosomal abnormalities, hormonal imbalances, and andropause.

According to Dr. Le Xuan Nguyen, at IVFTA-HCMC, the causes of infertility in couples stemming from the husband are very diverse. Thanks to the combination of female and male infertility treatments and an ISO 5 laboratory integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) to screen embryos with abnormal cell division, many couples have successfully conceived and given birth to healthy children.

Dr. Le Dang Khoa advises that men who have had regular sexual activity for a year (2-3 times/week) without using contraception and have not conceived should have a reproductive health check-up for early diagnosis and treatment. Men should also improve their awareness of reproductive health care and change their lifestyle habits to reduce risk factors such as: not smoking, limiting or abstaining from alcohol, avoiding banned substances and stimulants, reducing stress and fatigue, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight. Cases of reproductive organ abnormalities or defects should not be delayed, as this can worsen the condition.

Hoai Thuong

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