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Age-defying journey challenges what parenthood can look like

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Age-defying journey challenges what parenthood can look like

  • By Gian T
1760418118568.png Age-defying journey challenges what parenthood can look like
A Melbourne doctor who welcomed his first child at 93 may have just broken a world record that's stood for nearly three decades. Credit: SolStocks / iStock

A Melbourne doctor who welcomed his first child at 93 may have just broken a world record that's stood for nearly three decades. But Dr John Levin isn't stopping there—he's planning for baby number two.



The current Guinness World Record for oldest legal father belongs to Australian Les Colley, who had his ninth child at 92 years 10 months in 1992.



The Hampton East GP and his wife Dr Yangying Lu, 37, welcomed son Gabby, creating one of Australia's most remarkable age-gap families.



With a 56-year difference between the parents, their story challenges everything we think we know about modern parenthood.



Love knows no boundaries



Dr Levin's journey to late-life fatherhood began with heartbreak and transformation. While the average age of Australian fathers has risen to 33.1 years, Dr Levin was already in his 80s when he decided to learn Mandarin following his first wife Veronica's death after 57 years of marriage.









His Chinese language teacher, Dr Lu, became much more than an instructor. Their whirlwind romance led to a Las Vegas wedding in 2014, and a decade later, they've created a family that defies conventional expectations.



'People think at first that he is Johnny's grandson, or sometimes great-grandson,' Dr Lu explains about public reactions to baby Gabby.



'When we explain they can't contain their surprise. But for us, it's about the choices that make us happy.'










'Of course being there for his 21st is a goal'

Dr John Levin, world's potentially oldest new father



The science of senior fatherhood



What makes Dr Levin's story even more extraordinary is the biological reality he's overcome.



Male fertility begins to decline significantly around age 40, and it can take a man five times longer to conceive at 45 than in their 20s.



Research shows that only 42 percent of men over age 51 meet the World Health Organisation's standard for semen quality, compared to 61 percent of men under age 51.



The statistics become even more challenging with advanced age.



Monash University research found that male fertility drops by 4.1 per cent per year in IVF treatments, regardless of the female partner's age.



This groundbreaking study dispelled the myth that older men with younger partners automatically have better fertility outcomes.









Dr Fabrizio Horta from Monash University explains the biological mechanism: 'The hypothesis is that as men get older their sperm becomes susceptible to DNA damage' caused by oxidative damage from free radicals.



Against all odds—IVF success in the 90s



The couple's fertility journey involved IVF treatment, where success rates typically plummet with advanced paternal age.



Research shows that while nearly half of men under 35 successfully fertilise eggs through IVF, this drops to 42 per cent for ages 36-40, 35 per cent for ages 41-45, 32 per cent for ages 46-50, and just 30 per cent for men over 51.



At 93, Dr Levin was attempting IVF in virtually uncharted territory, making their first-try success even more remarkable.









'I was very lucky. We achieved a pregnancy on the first try,' Dr Lu recalls. 'It can be so difficult for many women. One of my mothers' group took 14 cycles to produce her daughter.'




Australian father age statistics


The median age of Australian fathers is 33.8 years (2023), making Dr Levin nearly 60 years older than the typical new dad.


Victoria, where the family lives, has some of Australia's oldest fathers with a median age of 33.7 years.




The secret to staying strong



Dr Levin's extraordinary fertility success may be linked to his decades-long commitment to anti-aging practices.



For 30 years, he's injected human growth hormone and maintained a strict lifestyle including regular gym sessions and intermittent fasting—eating no meals before noon, mostly vegetarian fare.



He doesn't drink alcohol or smoke, factors that research shows significantly impact male fertility alongside aging.



His professional expertise as a healthy aging specialist has clearly informed his personal approach to longevity.









Advanced paternal age typically increases risks for premature birth, lower APGAR scores, and babies may have 'less semen volume and sperm with less motility'.



However, Dr Levin's lifestyle choices may have helped mitigate some of these age-related fertility challenges.



Planning for baby number two



Despite the biological obstacles, the couple are already considering expanding their family. 'We're thinking of another one, we'd like to have a little girl,' Dr Levin told radio station Nova 100.



However, Dr Lu sounds more cautious: 'We're still talking!' The practical considerations are significant—if successful, a second child would make Dr Levin potentially the oldest father of two children in recorded history.










What makes this story remarkable



  • Dr Levin appears to be the world's oldest new father at 93

  • Previous record holder was 92 years 10 months

  • Only 30 per cent of men over 51 achieve IVF pregnancy success

  • Success achieved on first IVF attempt

  • Planning for a second child




Facing the future together



Dr Lu has realistically considered the challenges ahead. 'I am prepared to parent on my own in the future,' she acknowledges, while converting to Judaism in preparation for their son's bar mitzvah—an event Dr Levin is determined to attend.



The couple benefits from extensive family support, including Dr Levin's three surviving children from his first marriage: Ashley, 62, and Samantha, 60, plus 10 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Tragically, his eldest son Greg died at 65 from motor neurone disease.



'With modern families these days you see different types of families and they make it work,' Dr Lu reflects. 'If other people can make it work, so can I.'









Looking ahead



Dr Levin's determination to be present for major milestones reflects both optimism and realism. 'Of course being there for his 21st is a goal,' he says, which would make him 114 years old. More immediately, he's focused on Gabby's bar mitzvah at 13, where he plans to read the Torah alongside his son.



Their story challenges societal expectations about aging, parenting, and family formation. While advanced maternal age is widely discussed in fertility conversations, Dr Levin's case highlights how paternal age deserves equal attention in family planning discussions.



Whether or not they proceed with a second child, this Melbourne family has already made medical history.



Dr Lu dismisses any suggestion their relationship was motivated by money, noting Dr Levin was 'bankrupt' when they met—theirs was purely a love match that happened to defy biological odds.



As baby Gabby grows up in this unique family constellation, he'll have the unusual distinction of potentially being the child of the world's oldest new father—and possibly, if his parents' plans come to fruition, gaining a sibling who would cement their father's place in the record books forever.



Have you encountered families with significant age gaps? What do you think about the challenges and joys of late-life parenting? Share your thoughts below—we'd love to hear from you.



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Dear member DLHM, thankyou for your post. Let us for a moment assume that you were born that kid, your mother never told you how you were conceived. Would you still call yourself a skrewed up kid, especially in your teens, because you are certainly coming across as an uneducated, out of date and arragant skrew up adult, who lacks human qualities. You will never know how many of your associates, friends or family members were truly conceived. Would you still call them skrewed up. You speak with shallow and meaningless views. You come across as one who is still living in the BC days. Grow up this is 2025, the modern day era, where life can become famous, respected and loved, regardless of the way he it she was conceived. Have a pleasant evening. 🙏🦋
At least @DLHM didn't receive her education by way of a hypocritical collection of a violent bunch of fables known as....

THE BIBLE!!
 
Oh, by the way @7777, have a pleasant day. 😆😂🤣 🤡
Thankyou dear member DLHM, and I wish you a mega pleasant weekend. Thankyou for you kind thoughts. With kindest regards 7777🙏🦋
 
Your condescending reply is not appreciated @7777, and I prefer you keep your opinions about me to yourself.

Your opinion that I “speak with shallow and meaningless views” and telling me to “grow up” shows how little you know.

All the replies you post are the same. You try to come across as so caring, but it sounds very hypocritical to me.
Maybe the devil 😈 in disguise 😳
 
At least @DLHM didn't receive her education by way of a hypocritical collection of a violent bunch of fables known as....

THE BIBLE!!
Dear member Veggiepatch good afternoon and thankyou for your post. Actually, when a person becomes embroiled in unforseen deep and dark problems in life, and there is no oneone and nothing on earth, that can save the soul, who is looking at death in the eyes, that's when THE BIBLE provides faith not to give up on life. Far from an education of hypocritical collection of a violent bunch of fables, but more so, a way to save ones life, by way of faith that was found in THE BIBLE. I don't know if you have ever experienced a situation in life where you thought you are a thread away from sitting beside God up there. It's the most loneliest, horrid feeling ever. You are surrounded by a world full of people, yet there is no one who can save your soul other than God's given faith, to not give up. You may not think much of the Bible, but many have been saved who have endured suffering and mental torment, by opening THE BIBLE and strengthening their faith, that has given them both mental and physical strength, to live life with meaning and purpose. Veggiepatch, you may agree or disagree with my post, but I am only sharing my experience and view on THE BIBLE just as you have in your post. Have a beautiful weekend. 🙏🦋
 
Maybe the devil 😈 in disguise 😳
Your condescending reply is not appreciated @7777, and I prefer you keep your opinions about me to yourself.

Your opinion that I “speak with shallow and meaningless views” and telling me to “grow up” shows how little you know.

All the replies you post are the same. You try to come across as so caring, but it sounds very hypocritical to me.
Dear member DLHM, thankyou for your post. I am expressing an opinion and views, and that means that we will not always agree with each other's thoughts on articles that are posted. With regards to my choice of words to describe my understanding of the way you think, that is me expressing my view. You are more than welcomed to say anything that you want about me and my opinions, I will not ever take it personal. We are all here not to swear or mean any harm with our words, but we are here to speak, share and discuss various articles by way of using our freedom of speach to convey views, and even express out disagreement with other views. I sincerely apologize if I have offended you or pushed your buttons as they say. I can be quite voistres with the way I come across, but never with an intention to cause any anger or distress of any nature. Please, take your best shot, and say what ever you want to me to make up for anything that I have said, that may have caused some unesyness. Once again, I apologize if I crossed the boundary of respect, it was not my intention, just my way of I guess imposing a view on a story that I felt very strong about. Please enjoy your beautiful weekend dear member DLHM. 🙏🦋
 
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Hmmm.
Must have kept a bunch of swimmers frozen in a dish when he was younger.
I am sure he would be happy and ready to live every day as if it is his last.
No - turns out he was not the genetic provider - sperm donor & IVF! Still & all I bet his natural offspring including grandkids are ecstatic about babies # 1 & #2 being in the inheritance pool!
 
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Hope, belief and faith.

The three Stooges of humanity.

Anybody want to dispute this fact?
 
Dear members, am I going to judge you according to the way your mother gave birth to you, no, I will accept you for the good, kind, respectful human that you are.
Dear member DLHM…because you are certainly coming across as an uneducated, out of date and arragant skrew up adult, who lacks human qualities. You speak with shallow and meaningless views. You come across as one who is still living in the BC days. Grow up this is 2025…

Do you see the hypocrisy you convey? Or perhaps you don’t see me as a member of SDC? That’s your prerogative.

Nevertheless, I find your pious attitude quite laughable and pathetic. Keep your sermons (as another SDC member rightly suggested), to yourself and your flock.
 
Those who practise religion are one of two breeds.

The controllers or the controlled.
 
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Thank you @Suzanne rose. You speak with your feet on the ground and not with your head in the clouds. 🥰
My mother married a man when she was 29 and he was 58. I was 15 . This was her second marriage. He was 2 years older than her father.

Both my grandparents were embarrassed by this and I remember when their daughter was run over by a car at 2 years old and he wanted to go in the ambulance and they said to him sorry only a parent not a grandparent.

Everyone has a right to make their own decisions but they need to think of the repercussions that this brings into others.
My mother's husband passed away when his daughters were 4,6 and 8. My mother had already left him for a dude the same age. We were glad at least no more kids .

I have a feeling the one who commented to you and I replied might have an older husband.
 
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Thankyou dear member DLHM, and I wish you a mega pleasant weekend. Thankyou for you kind thoughts. With kindest regards 7777🙏🦋
By the way @7777 this was given to me this morning by someone who truly knows me.

1760768326378.jpeg

So say whatever you like about me. It matters not. The ones who count know the truth.
 
Pretty poor journalism and proofreading here. In the first paragraph it states he had his first child at 93. However, in succeeding paragraphs it talks about the children from his first marriage. Very, very slack journalism!
He has 3 older sons and the one who was 60 passed away recently
 
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My mother married a man when she was 29 and he was 58. I was 15 . This was her second marriage. He was 2 years older than her father.

Both my grandparents were embarrassed by this and I remember when their daughter was run over by a car at 2 years old and he wanted to go in the ambulance and they said to him sorry only a parent not a grandparent.

Everyone has a right to make their own decisions but they need to think of the repercussions that this brings into others.
My mother's husband passed away when his daughters were 4,6 and 8. My mother had already left him for a dude the same age. We were glad at least no more kids .

I have a feeling the one who commented to you and I replied might have an older husband.
You could be right with your last sentence.

So sad that you’ve had to live with the bad decisions that your mother had made. Goes to show how many people are affected by even just one poor choice.

But you’ve learnt so much and perhaps (?) been an even stronger, wiser and more compassionate person that you may have been had life been too easy. 🥰
 
Dear Suzanne, thankyou for your post. I stand by every word in my post. I was not the judgemental person regarding this story, if anything I was being compassionate, empathizing and being totally accepting of the personal decisions made by the mother. For people who feel it is their God given right to play the role of the judge in a court of ethics and morals, well all the best to them. We are all different, we all experience different things and we all think in our own individual way, we make our own choices for what ever the reason may be. Having said that, people should stop poking fun at age differences, and no one is making fun and gossiping about the age differences with the parents and these children, except people like yourself, and member DLHM, who stated that it will be a screwed up kid when in his teens. Yes the parents have gone public, but how many people remember what they ate last week, who is going to hold on to that information of how the child was conceived 20 years down the line, when the child has grown to become a respected adult. I mean no disrespect to you Suzanne as I have come to admire the strong and amazing woman that you are. But with this article, I am saying that I feel strongly about the freedom of choice that this mother has made. We can not all be clones and have the same kind of families. Everyone has made their choice as to how they would conceive a child and how many children they want to have. It all comes down to respect for another person's life style, even if that means it is totally different to our own way of life. This is a free country, let people choose to live as they wish, without pointing the finger at them with gossip. Have a good morning Suzanne. 🙏🦋
Don't you think you are being a bit judgmental.

Yes we live in a free country to a certain extent but there are boundaries and a thing called morals that we should abide by.

I knew a couple that walked around their house in the nude and in front of their kids. Thus couple also had sex in front if their children . Do you think that's ok .

Kids that see their parents fighting all the time ,is that OK.

My grandparents raised me and everyone knew they were my grandparents but when I had school meetings ect I wished I had my mother ,someone who was young not old like ny grandparents there. Kids are Kids and will say hurtful things so I stick to what I say and that's very wrong to have a child at that age.
 
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You could be right with your last sentence.

So sad that you’ve had to live with the bad decisions that your mother had made. Goes to show how many people are affected by even just one poor choice.

But you’ve learnt so much and perhaps (?) been an even stronger, wiser and more compassionate person that you may have been had life been too easy. 🥰
I definitely have learnt and that's not to be like my mother. Oops that's judging 😬
 

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