If you want to have a personal consultation, please fill in the contact form below.We’ve written this post based on the major points presented during our free webinar “The Top 10 Things Men Need to Know About Their Fertility.”
Couples undergoing fertility therapy jointly go on a long journey with numerous stops along the way, including embryology, donor and surrogacy testing, legal procedures, and so on. One of these that often gets overlooked, though, is the male contribution to fertility.
There are a few things that couples should be aware of while planning a pregnancy, whether it’s a natural pregnancy or one achieved through IVF or surrogacy. From the malefactor of fertility, there are a few things that families should consider.
If a couple has been trying to conceive for a year and has not been successful, it is already a reason to see a urologist.
1. The most important “male” aspects to consider in pregnancy preparation (for both IVF and surrogacy)
- First and foremost, the volume of sperm cells, not their quantity, is the most significant component. The good volume ranges from 1.5 to 2 ml.
- The concentration of spermatozoids per milliliter is the next criterion to consider. The typical sperm cell count per milliliter is between 15-20 million.
- The next important thing is the parameter about motility. Spermatozoids are being graded into different qualities. The top quality is grade A, the medium one is a grade B. So the combination of A and B should be at least 50% total.
- The anatomy of the spermatozoid itself also is an important parameter. It is a morphology factor. So at least 30% should be within a norm, without abnormalities.
2. How to read a sperm analysis report and what are the factors that can lead to those deviations?
Even if one of those measures is outside of the usual range, it is already a sign that you should see a urologist.
Smoking, alcohol, radiation of any kind, access to gasoline, oil products, or other chemicals, or labor related to local testicular overheating are only a few of the apparent causes (like sauna, hot tubes, etc.)
Varicose veins are still another of the most prevalent reasons. It is crucial to be aware of the fact that it might be recognized even visually. It is an expansion of blood vessels within the testicle, similar to varicose veins in the legs in some persons.
It can be seen in children as young as 6-8 years old. Since a couple’s level of infertility is increasing, it’s crucial to know.
It is important to know since the level of infertility of a couple is growing. And the level of a male factor of infertility is as high as 50%.
This is happening because the living conditions now are not getting better and the ecology is getting worse, the huge impact of chemicals in water and food. So we need to pay attention to these factors as well.
3. What should a man consider before undergoing sperm collection?
Of course, you must wash all regions of the testicle prior to collection, and you must not lose any drops throughout the ejaculation process, especially the first. It is preferable to try again later if you missed the first drop.
Another significant tip is to avoid sex encounters for 2–5 days before collecting sperm.
4. Should sperm be cryopreserved ahead of time and for how long?
Yes, even if you have a child already or you do not know yet if you want to have a child in the future. It is better to have sperm preserved. You never know what will one your health condition in the future.
It is a good precautionary measure to be done.
Also, we advise doing cryopreserve sperm if you consider vasectomy just in case.
Between 18 to 30 y.o is the best age to preserve sperm.
5. How long sperm can be stored for?
There is no limit to how long you can preserve a sperm.
6. What factors might affect male fertility?
Before collection no hot tubes or bath, no antibiotics for at least the last 2 weeks, also need to wait 2 weeks after infection or fever.
Other factors like x-ray or having a flight, it is not the best to have before the collection, but not so critical, since there will be always a second control collection in few weeks.
We also suggest even if you have no issues it is still a good idea to do a consultation with a urologist, perhaps to take a set of vitamins, antioxidants, etc to have as many chances as possible.
This kind of check-up is also good not only to check your fertility but also is a powerful analysis during which other life-threatening diseases can be detected, including infectious or inflammation process or cancers, etc.
We advise you to do it regularly and ahead of time.
The important thing to understand even if your sperm is empty it does not mean you are infertile, there are other methods to get your own spermatozoids.
7. What is TESE/TESA/MESA, when it is recommended, and how it affects your fertility?
All of these methods are used in case of missing sperm conditions, it just depends on the type.
TESA – aspiration; TESE – extraction ; MESA – micro sperm aspiration; Micro TERE – microextraction under microscope.
So the doctor chooses which is better to do in the particular case.
Most commonly used are TESA or micro TESE.
8. Treatment strategies and approaches that could be used
The diagnosis of why the patient has the illness that causes infertility is the most difficult part, not the treatment.
Infectious diseases, genetics, and other factors are among them.
9. What is the effect of COVID on male fertility and how may it be reduced?
If we consider COVID to be an infection, a fever will have an effect on the quality of your sperm. Blood clots, which can obstruct blood flow to organs such as the testicles, can also cause issues. Because spermatogenesis takes 72 days, all of this can certainly affect your fertility for the next 3-6 months.
10. How to prevent infertility (for yourselves and your children).
Keep a healthy lifestyle: healthy food, be active and do regular checkups.
You can watch the full recording of the webinar here:
If you want to have a personal consultation, please fill in the contact form below.