Laboratories all over the world have been making great strides to help couples to conceive, and this latest piece of research could be of huge significance to infertile men.
According to reports today, human sperm cells have been grown in a laboratory for the very first time.
Kallistem, a company in Lyon, France, has claimed to have successfully transformed scraps of genetic material into fully-functioning sperm.
A spokesperson for the private research centre has said that the team are hoping to be able to carry out clinical trials on human subjects within the next two years. Pre-clinical trials are expected to begin in early 2016
If the procedure works on humans, the firm predicts to be able to treat as many as 50,000 patients a year.
Commenting after announcing the news, the company’s CEO Isabelle Cuoc said: “Our team is the first in the world to have developed the technology required to obtain full-formed spermatozoa in vitro with sufficient yield for IVF. This is a major scientific outcome that enhances both our credibility and our developmental potential.”
We will keep you updated on this very interesting breakthrough.