Dr Kaylen Silverberg - What factors can influence the quality of sperm?
Advanced Male Fertility Testing
Anti-sperm Antibody Testing
The semen sample which is collected for a semen analysis may also be
used at the same time to test for the presence of antibodies to the
man’s sperm. If present, these sperm antibodies can further reduce
the chances for a couple to conceive. The importance of testing for
sperm antibodies is to know that they are present. If their
presence is known, the sperm antibodies can be overcome by the
addition of solutions to the semen at the time of the semen
collection.
Sperm Function Testing: Vital Staining of Sperm
It is normal for some of the sperm that are examined at the semen
analysis to be non-motile. Among these non-motile sperm, some may
be dead while others are alive but incapable of movement. When
there is a very high percentage of non-motile sperm it is helpful to
know if some of them are alive. This will dictate the type of
treatment that is available for the physician to employ in order to
help the couple achieve pregnancy. If the semen analysis has
revealed that there are 95% or more non-motile sperm in the sample,
a portion of the sample will be combined on a slide with a vital
stain. This stain will reveal what percent of the sperm are
non-motile but alive. These stained sperm will not be available for
use by the patient, but will give an indication of how many sperm
are alive in the semen sample. If there is a small portion of sperm
that are alive, intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection may be used during
an IVF cycle in order to fertilize eggs that have been retrieved
during the IVF procedure.
Sperm Function Testing: Hypo-Osmotic Swelling Test
A second test that may be used to differentiate dead sperm from
living, non-motile sperm is a hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST).
This particular test is used during the actual IVF process. If the
male partner has very few or no motile sperm, the embryologist may
use a combination of culture medium and water to make a solution in
which non-motile living sperm will react. The reaction is one in
which the tail of the living sperm will curl as a response to the
unfavorable osmotic condition caused by the presence of water in the
culture medium. The dead sperm will not react. The living sperm
are picked out of the culture medium and water solution and are
gathered in a drop of medium to await their use for injecting eggs.
The percent of living sperm can be calculated, but this technique is
primarily used to identify sperm for immediate use during the ICSI
process.
