The delivery of the first babies conceived using testicular sperm in Northern Ireland.

CASEREPORT ] Mr and Mrs C were aged 35. Mr C worked as a bus driver and his wife as a manageress. He was known to have obstructive azoospermia due to congenital absence of the vas deferens and was a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene mutation R560T. His karyotype was 46XY and his hormone profile was normal. Mrs C was not a cystic fibrosis carrier, her menstrual cycle was regular and she was ovulating normally. She underwent ovulation induction for oocyte retrieval with subcutaneous injections ofrecombinantFSH (Puregon®, Organon) using a standard protocol. Transvaginal ultrasound guided oocyte retrieval was performed in August 1998 under intravenous sedation. Following retrieval, oocytes were incubated for 2 hours and then denuded of their cumulus matrix and coronal cells using hyaluronidase (80 IU/ml, IVF Science, Scandinavia) permitting assessment of oocyte maturity.