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My husband has Klinefelter's

Hoping4BestHoping4Best Junior Member Junior Member
Hi – My husband and I have been married for a little over a year. About 6 months before we got married, he was diagnosed with Klinefelter Syndrome, which is a genetic disorder in males where you are born with an extra X chromosome. It’s actually not that rare (1 in 500 males are born with the genetic disorder), you just don’t hear about it. Part of Klinefelter’s (along with many other problems) is infertility.

Last spring, my husband had a testicular biopsy in the hopes that they would find live sperm, but the procedure was not as successful as we had hoped. He is having a second biopsy in March, which will be more thorough – however, our chances are 20-30%. Simultaneously, I will be going through the IVF process. As a backup, we need to choose a donor sperm in case the surgery is unsuccessful. This is the part I’ve been struggling with most.

Initially, I was more open to adoption (I think because it’s more socially accepted), but I’ve been talking through things with a therapist and feel more comfortable with the idea. Wondering if there’s anyone else in a similar situation? It’s a hard thing for any couple to go through and I know we’ll be so happy with whatever child(ren) god blesses our lives with…it’s just getting there that’s the hard part. I know we’re not alone, sometimes it just feels that way.

Would love to hear from any other couples who can relate.

Comments

  • SEVSEV Junior Member Junior Member
    Hello,
    You are not alone! I know at times your situation will feel hopeless, but this is not the case! My husband has sertoli cell only syndrome (meaning he doesn't produce sperm). We found this out about a year into our marriage. I felt the same way about adoption….but when it came down to it, I wanted a child of my own. We started looking into the donor route. I was very apprehensive at first but then became more comfortable with the idea. Now we have a one year old son who is the light of our lives. Often times we forget that we used a "donor". I will never regret my decision….it wasn't an easy one but it is SO worth the challenges. Good luck to you! Love will see you through!
  • maria_cc79maria_cc79 Junior Member Junior Member
    Hello,

    I'm sorry for what you and your husband are going through. I know how hard it is to grieve the loss of the biological child that you can't have. At least you do have some hope that the surgery will work in your husband case but I think it would be a good idea for you and your husband to think in the terms of that fact that you're going forward with this IVF using donor sperm and make sure that you both are totally okay with that because you don't want to be feeling upset and grieving the loss of your biological baby while you're going through the IVF and in your two week wait. If you do end up needing donor sperm it might be a good idea to freeze your donor created embryos and wait until you and your husband know that you are both okay and at peace with it and then have them transferred. That's just my advice if you are having a hard time with the idea of using a donor.

    My husband and I have a beautiful little girl thanks to a donor. We couldn't be happier and we both love her to death! My husband absolutely adores her and could care less that she's not his biologically. He's her one and only Daddy. If you do end up having to use the donor, it won't matter how your baby got here. I wish you and your husband the best and I hope that your IVF is a success whether from your husband's sperm or from a donor. :)
  • ebg0903ebg0903 Junior Member Junior Member
    Hi Hoping, My husband was diagnosed with a genetic condition, Robertsonian Translocation, which means that he's missing a chromosome and the only manifestation of it is low count/low quality sperm. We tried 2 rounds if IVF using ICSI last winter and both attempts failed - out of 20'ish embryos not a single one made it. After that we made the decision to try using donor sperm. We have two adopted nephews, so it was a difficult choice, but for us I feel like it might be the right way to grow our family.

    Right now we're trying IUI with donor sperm, but I only have one working fallopian tube, so it makes it a bit slower in that we can't do and IUI every month. Our plan moving forward is to try 2 rounds of IVF using a donor sperm and if neither of those work we'll know that it's time to move on. Other than my blocked falloipan tube I'm in perfect reproductive health etc. Of course I am probably doing another IUI this month, but if that doesn't work it's back to IVF.

    Hang in there!!!
  • JP1018JP1018 Junior Member Junior Member
    My husband also has translocation. It's nice to know we aren't alone.
  • CRippli1CRippli1 Member Member
    I've got to say, I've spoken to couples on this site who were in a similar situation to mine and my husbands but it's nice to come across a supportive thread like this. There is something so comforting about reading people's beautiful stories who have gone through some similar experiences to ours.

    We found out after a year of ttc that my husband has azoospermia but we aren't sure why because all his tests have come back normal. When we first learned I was devastated. My husband and I were together for 9 years (since high school) when we learned the news. So I have had almost a decade of dreaming about ”our family.” I went through quite the grieving period. My husband was surprisingly together about the whole situation. He was ready for donor sperm or adoption immediately. I took more convincing.

    Initially we started looking into adoption. Like you, Hoping4Best, it probably appealed to me more because it's more socially acceptable and because I felt that if we adopted a baby we would both the equally (genetically) related to it. But as we learned more about the cost, time and energy that goes into adoption we realized that it wasn't really an option for us at this time in our lives. My husband brought up donor sperm again, knowing how much I've always dreamed about being pregnant. After a lot of discussion I agreed.

    We found a donor very quickly and I got pregnant on my first unmedicated IUI attempt. I was truly in disbelief. Now we have a beautiful baby boy who is 2 months old. Best decision we ever made.

    My husband has yet to have a testicular biopsy, but we're going to do the same thing as you for baby #2. My husband will have the procedure while I undergo IVF simultaneously. If we find that he is fact has no sperm, we will have the back-up donor sperm. I still hope that I will be able to have a child that is biologically linked to my husband, but I have learned that it is not the end of the world if that doesn't happen. He will still love the children we do have. We have also decided that if we choose to have a third child we will be adopting the third one. I feel so excited about all the possibilities now. Our family is not ever going to be what I always imagined, it's going to be something better.
  • kebelliekebellie Junior Member Junior Member
    My husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (which is a blood/bone cancer) one year after we were married. Once he was diagnosed we were told to freeze his sperm but there were none and we had to move along quickly with his stem cell transplant (own stem cells). There was no time to find out what the issue was so we had to put it on the back burner. He was in remission for a couple of years but was just told recently that one of his numbers is starting to go up and we would have to start thinking of an Allo Transplant (donor transplant) which is very risky. Having a donor for insemination was not what I envisioned but I want a baby so bad and want my husband to have a baby. We have started the process of looking for a sperm donor. On top of the difficult task of getting use to the idea of having a baby with someone other than my husband, I also have to worry about my husband having a transplant and possibly losing him at some point and being a single mom. This has been one of the hardest things I have ever gone through but having a baby and being a parent with my husband has given me the strength to forge forward. The other issue that I struggle with is that I am Catholic and the Catholic Church does not believe in artificial insemination. Is anyone else struggling with the same issues as me?
  • Cam100Cam100 Junior Member Junior Member
    We are in a similar boat. My husband and I have been together 7 years. After TTC for one year we found out he did not produce sperm. We waited one year to grieve and wrap our minds around everything before proceeding with donor sperm. It was a VERY challenging decision. I always wanted to be pregnant and was open to having one and adopting others. We wanted three children....well I got pregnant with triplets! They are five months old and beautiful. I had a terrible pregnancy and they were born early, as triplets are. My husband loves them so much and has since the moment we found out. It has been a long journey for us but we feel that though it is challenging for the babies to have such a genetic background they are very loved, wanted, and they have each other. My in-laws are amazing and love them so much, too. We only told immediate family about our issues.
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