>>11278251Gametes (especially the egg) are protected from most of the sources of damage that wear down normal somatic cells.
Aging is complicated and poorly understood, but two of the main culprits are accumulated epigenetic changes and oxidative damage. The first is handled by the near-complete removal of epigenetic tags during meiosis and later again during fertilization. The second is handled by the fact that human reproductive organs have evolved really sophisticated ways to prevent gametes from being exposed to oxidative damage.
Together, these mean that your eggs and sperm are functionally 'younger' than you are, but obviously this doesn't work forever. Kids sired by really old men and near-menopausal women tend to have higher prevalence of developmental issues and other nasty problems.
