A woman from Derbyshire who was allergic to her husband's sperm has described how she successfully conceived after undergoing a rare treatment. Kathryn Berrisford, from Whatstandwell, experienced four miscarriages before doctors discovered the cause.
The 47-year-old was told that her tissue was too similar to her partner Joss's, leading her body to reject his sperm. To counteract this, she was injected with his white blood cells in a procedure known as leukocyte immunotherapy. This prompted her immune system to recognise the sperm as a foreign body, allowing fertilisation to occur.
Mrs Berrisford, who works as a fertility lab manager, said the condition is a very rare cause of miscarriage. She noted that women are only tested for it after all other potential reasons for miscarriage have been ruled out.
Following the treatment, her first baby was born in 2005. She now hopes to raise awareness of the condition and reassure couples in similar situations that treatment is available.
