Ipswich cancer patient becomes dad thanks to frozen sperm

Nick Foster is looking forward to spending his first Father's Day with son Branimir

A man left infertile due to cancer treatment has become a dad thanks to his decision nine years ago to freeze sperm before starting chemotherapy.

Nick Foster, 33, from Ipswich, was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.

After his wife Gergana (Geri) underwent IVF treatment, their son Branimir (Bran) was born at the town's hospital.

"If I hadn't said 'yes' to sperm freezing when I was 24, I wouldn't now be a dad and have my fantastic little boy," he said.

The Foster family - Nick, Gergana and Branimir - love spending time together

Mr Foster was single and living on his own when he noticed lumps on his neck.

The cancer had spread to his lungs and bone marrow and he was told by his consultant that chemotherapy would mean he would be unable to have children, due to it reducing sperm.

He was sent to fertility clinic Bourn Hall in Colchester to have some sperm frozen, paid for by the NHS, before his treatment started.

"I'd always known that I would like to have children one day, but at that point in my life it wasn't even on the radar," he said.

"Being given the news, on top of a cancer diagnosis, that I would likely end up infertile was pretty gut-wrenching, but the option of sperm freezing for IVF in the future was really amazing as a fall-back."

Branimir is a very happy little boy, who Nick, as a keen amateur photographer, likes to take photos of

He said after the treatment, he recovered and had been "fully discharged", albeit with "zero sperm count".

In 2016 he met Gergana, they were married four years later and in January 2022 started NHS-funded IVF. A few weeks later, she became pregnant.

"Every morning when he [Branimir] sees his dad he gets so excited, more so than with anyone else," his wife said.

"They have such a special bond, it is incredible."

Gergana and Nick were married for a few years before Branimir came along

Dr Arpita Ray, lead clinician for Bourn Hall's Essex clinics, said: "Sperm or egg freezing prior to chemotherapy, where appropriate, can give a patient the option to try for a child in the future using IVF, if their chemotherapy leaves them infertile."

Offering advice to others in his situation, the new father said: "You may not want children now, but in 10 years' time you don't know where your life is going to be and things can change very quickly.

"Freeze your sperm, it is a no-brainer."