Thinking ahead

Boy with cancer has tissue frozen so he can be a father later in life

A 9-year-old boy with a brain tumour has become the first in the UK to have testicular tissue frozen with the hope he can have children later in life. Nathan Crawford has undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy to shrink his inoperable tumour but the treatment could render him infertile. In a ground-breaking procedure, surgeons at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford have removed a wedge of testicular tissue and frozen it, and will aim to one day reimplant it into Nathan. If the re-implantation is successful, Nathan will have a good chance of becoming a father. Nathan has a type of tumour called a glioma, which develops from the glial cells that support the nerve cells of the brain. His tumour is so close to vital brain tissue that surgeons are unable to remove it without causing serious damage to important brain functions. Nathan has undergone a course of radiotherapy and is having a second round of chemotherapy with the aim of shrinking the tumour.

A German court has ordered a man to destroy intimate photos and videos of his expartner because they violate her rights to privacy. The Federal Court ruled the man should no longer possess the naked photos and sex tapes, even if he had no intention of sharing them. The court said the woman’s consent to the images ended when the relationship did. The former couple were arguing about whether the man should delete the items.