Nearly half of all infertility involves a male factor, usually with abnormalities seen by semen analysis. Andrology is the study of male reproduction. Our Andrology Laboratory offers the full range of semen testing. In some cases, your doctor may refer you to a Urologist for further evaluation.
When a sperm problem exists that cannot be corrected, the basic principle of treatment involves getting the sperm closer to the egg. This can be done by a number of methods.
IUI (intrauterine insemination): Injection of sperm into the woman's uterus.
IVF (In Vitro Fertilization): Mixing the sperm with the patient's eggs in the laboratory, where fertilization will take place.
- Used in cases where there are very low sperm counts/motility/ and/or low percentages of normal appearing sperm (morphology).
- Injecting a single sperm individually into each egg in the laboratory to improve the chances for fertilization.
In cases where there are no partner sperm available, or when the patient prefers to avoidIVF or related treatment modalities, donor sperm for insemination can be utilized provided that the Fallopian tubes are open
In male partners who have undergone surgical sterilization, vasectomy reversal may be an option.
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May be an option when no sperm are found in the ejaculated specimen
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Sperm can be directly removed from the testicle or epididymis by a urologist and then frozen for a future IVF + ICSI cycle.
