Xavier Powell, currently 6 months old, is now known as the “world’s oldest baby”. The sperm has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the “oldest sperm used in successful IVF treatment.” Born in good health, Xavier was conceived through IVF treatment using the sperm his father, Alex Powell, froze before undergoing treatment for cancer at the age of 15
In the early 1990s, Mr Powell was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was advised to undergo chemotherapy treatment instantly. But then, a chance encounter on a train for his stepmother, Patricia Powell, the same morning he was diagnosed would lead to a beautiful surprise 23 years later.
According to Patricia, upon seeing a woman sitting with a young, small boy on the train, she made a comment on his size, to which the woman responded that her son (18 years old) had undergone radio therapy treatment and it had stunted his growth plate.
The encounter with the mother and son lead her to contemplate about what other side effects the lifesaving cancer treatments can cause, including infertility. She then urged her stepson, the then 15 year-old Alex to freeze his sperm for the future in preparation that he would want a child one day when he was to get married
According to Alex, ‘It involved a very clinical situation mixed with a very personal situation and um…very awkward moments.” Patricia even accompanied him and became concerned when he was in the room for a long time but he finally appeared with the container in his right hand and a puzzled expression, saying that he didn’t know what to do next.
Two decades after the incident, Alex met his wife and began trying to begin a family using his sperm in IVF treatments. He beat cancer and is now a chiropractor in Brisbane. Alex expressed his worries about using the sperm that had been stores away for so long. “There was a bit of nervousness – when they bring those guys out what’s going to happen? Are they all going to turn left?” he said.
Finally, after all the trying and waiting, one year of treatments to conceive, their baby named Xavier Powell was born on June 17, 2015.
