Male Fertility Tests
At
least 47% of infertility has a male component. Obviously,
no treatment of the female should be initiated until
it is documented that her partner is producing sperm
capable of reaching and fertilizing the eggs. There
are now many treatment options available for men with
severe infertility. These are discussed in detail
in the section on male
infertility.
With
the advent of intracytoplasmic sperm injection and
testicular sperm aspiration in conjunction with in
vitro fertilization, it is possible to retrieve enough
sperm to produce a pregnancy even if there are no
sperm in the ejaculate.
Semen
Analysis
The manner in which the specimen is collected and
transported can affect the outcome of the analyses.
Sexual abstinence should be practiced for at least
three days, but not more the four days, before collection.
The
preferred method of collection is masturbation in a
private room at our office or the chosen laboratory,
using a sterile glass container. Lubricants or lotions
sometimes contain toxic chemicals and cannot be used.
Other elements such as saliva or tap water can also
damage sperm. The semen factors evaluated include:
- Volume (amount of fluid which makes up the semen,
usually expressed in milliliters).
- Sperm count (number of sperm in a standard given
volume).
- Motility (percent of sperm that are moving when
the semen is examined under the microscope).
- Progression (forward movement of sperm cells).
- Viability (percent of sperm that are shown to
be alive by use of a special staining technique).
- Sperm morphology (shape) and additional semen
contents, such as white blood cells (which can indicate
the presence of infection).
