Saturday, May 25, 2024

Can people with Down syndrome conceive and can they conceive a non-Down’s syndrome child?

Profile photo for Jean-Marie Valheur

It is believed that people with Down syndrome are often infertile, although about thirty percent of women with the disorder may be able to conceive children. Men with Down syndrome are typically infertile, but not always. The proud family man below is a Syrian wheat factory worker named Jad Issa.

Jad Issa has Down syndrome but managed to fall in love, get married, hold down a job and father a son. Now over thirty years after the above photo was taken, Jad’s son Sader Issa is a grown man, married and a doctor. Unlike his father, he does not have Down sydrome and his parents were able to raise him into an upstanding citizen.

Here we see Jad with his wife and son today. Yes, people with Down syndrome can sometimes father or give birth to non-Down syndrome children. And they can live full lives, hold down simple jobs, have friends and relationships in spite of their disability.

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