this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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[โ€“] portifornia@piefed.social 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The truth is, in regards to fertility, we have perfect eggs our entire life.

That is demonstrably false. While it's true that oocytes have remarkable properties to maintain their proteins over long periods. And more-recent research suggests egg quality isn't nearly the infertility culprit it was once thought to be (as compared to, ovarian health, for instance). The fact remains that as women age, chromosomal abnormalities DO occur at higher rates.

[โ€“] daannii@lemmy.world 3 points 21 hours ago

That's not supported. Those errors are not significant until the woman is nearing 40 and after.

At which point, most women are not having pregnancies.

Also there is a specific error associated with eggs. It has to do with chromosome numbers. Is specific to disorders like downs syndrome and miscarriage. Called "aneuploidy".

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2022&q=chromosome+errors+in+embryos+age+of+parents+&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C14#d=gs_qabs&t=1771178714217&u=%23p%3DMnn8vjTVXIcJ Influence of parental age on chromosomal abnormalities in PGT-A embryos: exponentially increasing in the mother and completely null in the father

Whereas sperm dna declines faster with age and is more prone to damage/changes from environmental factors like diet, exposure to chemicals, and the like.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/2/486 Impact of Advanced Paternal Age on Fertility and Risks of Genetic Disorders in Offspring

I suppose if someone was planning or at least considering the possibility of having biological children after age 35 (mother and/or father) then it would be realistic to save back sperm and egg from an earlier age to reduce multiple types of risk.