Alex Powell was diagnosed with cancer when he was 15-years-old. His doctors told him that he would have to undergo chemotherapy. His stepmother, Patricia, had heard about a woman whose 18-year-old son froze his sperm before undergoing cancer treatment. Patricia encouraged her son to do the same. Infertility is often a side effect of chemotherapy.
Alex was embarrassed, but he took his stepmother’s advice. He deposited his sperm at the local sperm bank. Alex beat cancer and lived a normal life. In 2013, he married a woman named Vi. They wanted to start a family, but he did not know if the sperm he had frozen several years ago would still be viable.
The couple underwent used Alex’s frozen sperm and underwent fertility treatments for one year. Vi gave birth to the couple’s first child, Xavier, on April 17, 2015. Not only is Alex a proud father, but he has also broken a record. His sperm was the oldest sperm ever to be used in IVF. Dr. Soto works at Sidney Children’s Hospital. She encourages doctors to educate patients about what IVF can do to their fertility. She is also working hard to make IVF more affordable.
Alex and his wife are happy. He never thought that taking his stepmother’s advice would lead to a miracle 23 years later.