Donor sperm has a higher success rate with IVF compared to a couple with male factor infertility. However, because the sperm has been checked, the success rates are similar to healthy non-donor sperm samples. Women under 35 have a 33% or higher pregnancy success rate with IVF.
What is a Donor Sperm?
When sperm is donated for use in the process of artificial insemination during an IVF procedure, it is known as donor sperm. Donor sperm is usually obtained from a sperm bank, a storage facility of healthy sperm from various donors.
Common sperm issues are
- Azoospermia: no sperms
- Oligospermia: few sperms
- Teratospermia: abnormally shaped
- Blocked tubes (vas deferens)
- High sperm DNA fragmentation: affect sperms ability to fertilize an egg
What affects it
- Smoking, excessive drinking, drugs, excessive weight.
- Past conditions like undescended testes, hernia, STD, or severe trauma.
- Acute viral illness can also temporarily affect sperm health
- After 45, there is a decline in the quality, volume, motility, and morphology of sperm.
Other Causes
- Retrograde ejaculation: Some or all semen flows backward into the bladder
- Immunological infertility: Develops antibodies against his own sperm
- Hyperprolactinemia: Elevated levels of the prolactin hormone causing infertility by affecting the function of the testes
- Occlusion: Blockage in a man’s reproductive system
Treatments
Unfortunately, there are not many treatments that will improve the quality of the sperms. The good news is, there are few treatments, that make use of the best of sperms. Eg:
IUI: Intrauterine insemination is a type of artificial insemination of semen into the uterine cavity, is a procedure for treating infertility. Sperms are washed and concentrated and then placed directly in your uterus around the time one or more eggs are released, these are then expected to be fertilized.
ICSI: In the ICSI process, a tiny needle, called a micropipette, is used to inject a single sperm into the center of the oocyte. Once fertilization occurs, the fertilized egg grows in a laboratory for few days before it is transferred to the woman’s uterine cavity.
MESA / TESA: TESE is a surgical procedure used to retrieve sperm from the seminiferous tubules of a male’s testes. It is used for men suffering from medical conditions, limiting them to impregnate his partner.
