Once divorced because they had no children, the couple remarried and had their own child.

Knowing that he had no sperm and could not give his wife a complete family, Mr. Cau (41 years old) tried every way to 'force' his wife to divorce. Thinking that their 'fate' was over, however, in a chance meeting, they wrote their own fairy tale.

Mr. Cau and Ms. Tham are happy with their son after 13 years of marriage - Photo: D.LIEU

Divorce wife because of infertility

This is the story of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham (40 years old) and Mr. Chu Van Cau (41 years old) shared at the 13th Anniversary of the Reproductive Support Department (2012 - 2025) and the summary of the program "Golden Week - Nurturing Happiness 2025", recently organized by the Hanoi Andrology and Infertility Hospital.

In a warm atmosphere, the touching stories of families who had successfully undergone treatment touched the hearts of hundreds of attendees. Among them, the story of a resilient love story and a happy ending after 13 years of waiting between Mr. Cau and Ms. Tham moved many people.

Married in 2009, like many other couples, Mr. Cau also longed to welcome his first child. However, despite trying everything, from folk remedies to hospitals, they only received one-line pregnancy tests. Finally, at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, doctors diagnosed Mr. Cau with azoospermia - no sperm in semen.

"When the doctor told me, I couldn't believe it. My hands and feet were weak. All I could think about was letting go so my wife could find happiness somewhere else. My wife deserves more complete happiness," Mr. Cau choked up.

But Ms. Tham, a woman with lasting love, did not accept that. "I am not going anywhere. I will stay, even without children, my husband and I are still happy together," Ms. Tham recounted.

Loving his wife, Mr. Cau tried every way to "force" her to divorce. He said that because he still loved her, he did not want her to share the blame for not having children, fearing that his wife would not be able to fulfill her role as a mother.

"I went out with another girl to pretend I had someone else, and didn't talk to her so she would get discouraged and give up," Mr. Cau said, sharing that despite that, she still didn't divorce.

It was not until seven years later that pressure from public opinion and inner torment forced them to break up while they still loved each other. On the day of their separation, Ms. Tham told her husband: "I'm divorcing not because I don't love you anymore, but to make you feel comfortable."

Time passed, each person had a different life, Mr. Cau returned to Hanoi to work, thinking that all doors had closed. But fate brought them to meet again in Ho Chi Minh City in 2019 - after 3 years of divorce. When their old eyes met in a strange city, they realized they still had feelings and "old love" was rekindled.

Then, Ms. Tham happened to read an article about modern assisted reproductive methods in Hanoi to treat infertility. The two decided to return to the North, entering the hospital door with a faint hope.

Here, they were advised about the PESA technique - percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration. The doctor said that with his condition, the chance of having a "genuine" child was 50:50. But to do IVF, they needed a marriage certificate.

"So we decided to… get married again," Mr. Cau said with a laugh.

In April 2022, in their hometown, Mr. Cau and Ms. Tham once again signed their marriage certificate, this time with stronger faith than ever.

Mr. Cau and Ms. Tham met again the doctors who accompanied them on their journey to find their beloved child - Photo: BVCC

Chance for men with no sperm

The miracle really happened after 13 years. After two embryo transfers, in 2023 they officially became parents. A "little angel" cried out when he was born, which was also the moment the arduous journey ended, opening a new chapter of complete love.

Mr. Cau emotionally shared that he never thought that he would be able to hold his child in his arms and be happy with his "second" wife. Something he had never thought of before.

MSc. Dinh Huu Viet - Head of the Department of Andrology, Hanoi Andrology and Infertility Hospital - shared that the case of Mr. Chu Van Cau is a typical example of male infertility due to no sperm - a condition that was once considered "hard to endure" the dream of becoming a father.

According to Vietnamese doctors, azoospermia can be caused by blockage of the vas deferens or by the testicles not producing sperm.

Mr. Cau's case belongs to the first group, the spermatogenesis process is still normal, but due to blocked ducts, the sperm cannot come out. Because he and his wife are old and have been wanting a child for 13 years, they decided to have a child as soon as possible using IVF technique and taking sperm from PESA epididymis.

"We performed the PESA procedure (percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration), a simple, minimally invasive but highly effective technique for cases of obstructive azoospermia. In Mr. Cau's case, the results after PESA were very positive, we obtained a good amount of sperm, enough to perform in vitro fertilization (IVF) with Ms. Tham's eggs," said Dr. Viet.

Dr. Viet shared that he has seen many men despair when they know they have no sperm. But having no sperm does not mean that they cannot have children.

It is important to correctly identify the cause, classify it and have an appropriate intervention strategy.

For young patients, normal wives who want to get pregnant naturally, male doctors can perform microsurgery to connect the epididymal vas deferens. If the procedure is good and there is sperm in the ejaculate, there is a chance of getting pregnant naturally. In other cases, PESA or TESE will be performed to retrieve sperm for IVF.

In cases of non-obstructive azoospermia, Micro-TESE is the best method to find sperm for IVF.

WILLOW

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tung-ly-hon-vi-khong-co-con-cap-vo-chong-tai-hon-roi-co-con-chinh-chu-20250526103127113.htm