The impact of the male genome on offspring health is a much neglected topic.  Even in this, the twenty-first century, we are inclined to consider ‘mother and baby’ health as an indivisible unit with the father reduced to a sperm; from an ejaculate where all sperm have equivalent quality; with a function tantamount to parthenogenesis.  Sperm DNA quality is a robust biomarker in assessing male reproductive potential.  It has also been shown to be a more valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for male infertility and assisted reproductive treatment (ART) outcome than any of the conventional semen analysis parameters.   It is linked to every fertility check point from reduced fertilization rates, lower embryo quality, reduced pregnancy rates through to higher rates of spontaneous miscarriage and an increased incidence of childhood diseases.   

 One of the major culprits of sperm DNA damage is oxidative stress.  In this lecture, the vulnerability of the paternal genome to sperm DNA damage and increased mutational load from such assault will be reviewed using models such as paternal age and modifable lifestyle hazards like smoking.  The subsequent impact on genetic damage on child health will also be  debated.  Using ART data from the past 30 years, the human evidence for and against the impact of the male  genome on child health will be explored.  Finally, the health of offspring from surgically retrieved (seminal plasma bypass) sperm will be addressed using the latest animal data.