3D Printing Human Sperm

 According to the Government of Canada, roughly 1 in 6 couples experience infertility in the country, presumably half of which can be attributed to reproduction issues in each gender. This number has doubled since the 1980’s. For those males unable to produce sperm, little in the way of treatment is available. But hold on to your hats folks, because recent breakthroughs at the University of British Columbia (UBC) may hold the key to artificially stimulate sperm production in some men.

How is human sperm produced?

The science is too complicated for the average Jane and Joe to wrap their heads around, so allow us to explore this topic by dumbing it all down a few notches so we can begin to understand.

What is known is that tiny microscopic tubes called seminiferous tubules are located in the testicles, measuring 300-400 microns across each. A micron is a millionth of a metre. An average male will have 750-1200 of these which are around 50cm in length and heavily coiled, each with the mysterious instructions on how to produce sperm. As a comparison, a human hair is about 70-90 microns across in size, and the human eye can see objects no smaller than 40-50 microns. So, these tubules are not microscopic.

The tubules communicate within the body (somehow) to collect the relevant sequences that make up the sperm, which delivers the man’s DNA to a friendly egg, and wham-o, you got yourself a fetus.

In some men experiencing infertility issues, the tubules malfunction and fail to produce sperm. The ‘why’ is not clearly understood.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) connection

Dr. Ryan Flannigan is an assistant professor of urology at UBC. He and his team have successfully created seminiferous tubules using a 3D bio-printer that saw stem cells survive 12 days, maintain themselves, and begin to specialize themselves in sperm production.

The goal is to develop this medical science to the point where seminiferous tubules producing sperm can be implanted in the testicles of men experiencing this type of infertility issue, to the relief and delight of countless wanna-be parents.

But, it is too early to be lining up at your local infertility clinic to receive the implants. Flannigan indicates more needs to be discovered about the interplay of seminiferous tubules with the rest of the body, albeit the results thus far are encouraging.

The trouble with science

Will we, one day, regret medical science advancements such as 3D printed human parts? To be sure we will, insofar as another power-hungry dictator such as a Hitler could become hell-bent on creating a master race, or perhaps some elements of an eugenics society could emerge to become commonplace. Ethics aside for now, this argument could be attached to any scientific breakthrough in any field and, unless we are prepared to return to a pre-Industrial Revolution era, the Pandora’s Box of 3D printed body parts is only going to become more prolific. And more normal.