Doctors said nothing was wrong — then she learned her immune system was attacking her husband’s DNA

“It’s a crazy headline.” Alex Murphy Klein was the first to admit that her predicament with her husband, Paul, is almost unheard of. The two shared on YouTube that they tied the knot in 2023 and have been trying to get pregnant since, only to find out that Alex was “allergic” to Paul’s DNA.

At first, the two believed that getting a baby would be “quick and easy.” But after one year, they figured they’d need a little help. Fertility problems affect 1 in 6 people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And even in countries like the United States, where the administration still remains skeptical of the UN-aligned agency, they too have offered up promises that they will do anything in their power to ensure that people who have fertility problems can still have a child with the required medical help.

Alex and Paul are from the United Kingdom, so there were no political hang-ups with their pursuit of medical help. The only issue came when they sought medical testing — the doctors themselves couldn’t find anything wrong with either of them. The two then decided to proceed with IVF treatments, but even that proved unsuccessful.

The two, now happy and understanding of their hang-ups, appeared on ITV’s This Morning to explain that things got much worse before they eventually got better. Alex said, “I just had to put the brakes on.” The two finally found answers when they decided to take a blood test from Fertilysis.

Much to their surprise, analysis of their blood samples revealed that the two had a rare genetic predisposition. Alex was found to be immunologically incompatible with her husband’s DNA. That’s when they realized that continuing with IVF treatments would not fix the underlying issue between them.

For Paul, it was an important conversation to start for the sake of men. There has been a lot of talk about masculinity in the 21st century. A clampdown on diversity initiatives will not change the fact that the role of a man in society is drifting from sole provider to partner. And part of partnership is showing your vulnerability from time to time to be better understood.

Paul expressed that finding this out about himself was a relief because he had jumped an emotional hurdle. He shared that he believes it is important for men to be open about fertility struggles — instead of letting their sense of pride and shame ball them up into silence. Paul, speaking from experience, said that being open will make other couples in the world feel less alone.

The couple has since shifted to LIT therapy. This involves injecting Paul’s blood into Alex to help her immune system build tolerance for his DNA, which Alex’s body still currently sees as foreign. The couple has been undergoing this process for the past six months.

What makes the interview so brave is that they still haven’t gotten the results they hope for. Paul explained that, to him, what’s more important is that they are facing infertility together — and that being open has brought them closer, not further away, from actual solutions. They remain hopeful about what lies ahead.