A nine-year-old boy from Cornwall has become the first person in the UK to undergo a procedure which may allow him to have children of his own in the future.
When Nathan Crawford began experiencing headaches and blurred vision, his concerned parents were dealt a devastating blow when they were informed their son had a brain tumour
Recalling the moment they learned their child would require surgery and further treatment, Nathan's mum, Donna, said: "Obviously we had been putting this down to possible problems with his eyesight so to be told it was a tumour was very hard."
"We have been told the tumour is non-cancerous and is grade two. With this type of tumour, as a child gets older it will quite often grow. It could cause damage that could be life-threatening," she explains.
In addition to enduring both chemotherapy and radiotherapy after being diagnosed with the inoperable brain tumour, Nathan was faced with yet another prospect many children of his age have yet to even consider - the prospect of infertility.
Determined that the little boy is afforded the chance to have a family of his own one day, surgeons at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford have performed a groundbreaking procedure which saw the removal of testicular tissue which will be frozen and re-implanted in the future.
"Our decision-making process regarding whether Nathan should have chemotherapy was made so much easier thanks to the fact Oxford could offer this storage of Nathan's cells," Donna explained as she revealed that her little boy loved children and hoped to become a dad one day.
Commenting on the procedure which Nathan, who is currently on his second cycle of chemotherapy, underwent, Dr Sheila Lane, a consultant paediatric oncologist explained that it is not dissimilar to ovarian tissue freezing.
"During the procedure, you take what looks like an orange segment out to divide into small parts, which then get frozen. You are storing the tissue which contains the stem cells. What happens when you put this tissue back (at a later date) is that it generates its own blood supply and starts producing normal hormones, which restores fertility," she confirmed.
Paying tribute to her son who has handled his diagnosis and treatments with ease, Donna said: "He's very much looking forward to Christmas and we couldn't be prouder of the way he has taken it all in his stride."
We're wishing the very brave Nathan and his family a very happy Christmas!
