{"id":864340,"date":"2025-07-22T22:14:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T03:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/22\/luke-oneill-should-men-freeze-their-sperm\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T22:14:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T03:14:21","slug":"luke-oneill-should-men-freeze-their-sperm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/22\/luke-oneill-should-men-freeze-their-sperm\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke O’Neill: Should men freeze their sperm?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Should men freeze their sperm?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As people start families later and later in life, it is a question that is increasingly being raised by men who want to become fathers but have yet to meet the love of their life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On <\/span>The Pat Kenny Show<\/i><\/b><\/a>, Trinity Professor Luke O\u2019Neill said the loss of fertility with age is \u201cmore serious\u201d for women, but still something that men need to think about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence is, as you get older, especially over 50, the sperm begins to be less effective,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, even though you are making it fresh, it\u2019s getting older.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor O\u2019Neill continued that men are currently much less fertile than they would have been in previous generations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a shocking thing happening all over the world, the sperm count is falling anyway – across all age groups,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big worry, it\u2019s halved.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mother A newborn baby. Picture by: Alamy.com.<\/p>\n

The reason behind this staggering decline in fertility is something that scientists are still trying to work out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs it pollution? Is it climate change? Who knows?\u201d Professor O\u2019Neill said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey still haven\u2019t fallen so much that a young man would be infertile as much – some men are, of course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a worry; if that continues our species is [threatened].\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the US National Institute of Medicine, a man sperm count declines by between 0.2% and 0.9% % a year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Professor O\u2019Neill noted that it is not until middle age that the quality of a man\u2019s sperm begins to drop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne study showed 4,271 men were analysed across different ages,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey noticed, when you get over 50, then the sperm quality begins to go down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the recommendation would be, in your 20s might be the time – that might be the time to freeze the sperm.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Changing A young baby. Picture by: Alamy.com.<\/p>\n

Professor O\u2019Neill added that this advice is \u201ccontroversial\u201d given how many men become fathers much later in life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know examples of older men, still well able to fertilise the eggs,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRobert De Niro, Mick Jagger.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut the truth is, on average, the sperm begins to go off a bit and fertility begins to go down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, maybe you should freeze your sperm.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike the cost of freezing a woman\u2019s eggs, Professor O\u2019Neill said is it much more affordable to freeze sperm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a US company,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s $300 a year to store your sperm, so if you were to email them, they\u2019d send you a little tube.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou produce the goods, then you send that to America and it\u2019s frozen for you in an American fridge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Main image: Split of Luke O’Neill and a man carry a plastic tube for a sperm sample. Pictures by: Newstalk and Alamy.com.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n