A 50-year-old frozen semen from a ram, believed to be the oldest in the world, is still achieving high fertility rates with the successful impregnation of 34 living sheep, according to researchers from the University of Sydney. The semen, frozen in 1968 by Steven Salamon of the varsity, included four rams of Ledgworth, Merryville and Boonoke genetics, owned at the time by the Walker family of Ledgworth at Yass. To prove sperm could survive several years, the semen was stored as small pellets in large vats of liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degree Celsius.
"We believe this is the oldest viable stored semen of any species in the world and definitely the oldest sperm used to produce offspring," a post-doctoral student in the Sydney Institute of Agriculture, said in a statement. The findings can pave the way for young cancer patients who may want to save semen samples before starting radiation…
