Frozen Sperm on Par with Fresh for IVF

Frozen sperm retrieved via testicular sperm extraction (TESE) is as good as fresh sperm in leading to successful in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine (WU; St. Louis, MO, USA) analyzed 15 years of data from the WU Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center. The study involved 136 men with low sperm count or no sperm in the semen at all (azoospermia) who underwent TESE, and 76 couples that underwent 123 IVF cycles with testicular sperm; of those who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), 84% of the procedures used frozen sperm and the rest used fresh sperm.

The researchers found that frozen sperm performed as well as fresh sperm in ICSI in terms of pregnancy success rate, despite there being a statistically significant difference in fertilization rate (frozen sperm 62%, fresh sperm 47%). Testicular sperm recovery from azoospermic males with all diagnoses was high, except non-obstructive azoospermia (31%). Following IVF, rate of fertilization was significantly lower with non-obstructive azoospermia compared to other male diagnoses. The study was published in the July 29, 2013, issue of PLOS One.

“The convenience and ease of being able to use frozen sperm taken by biopsy in ICSI offers many advantages over fresh sperm,” said lead author Kenan Omurtag, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. “The type of surgical center and/or its distance from the laboratory was not related to success.”

During IVF an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries, fertilized in a lab dish with sperm from the male, and the fertilized egg or embryo is then placed in the woman's womb. If the man has azoospermia, viable sperm has to be retrieved directly from the testicle via a TESE biopsy procedure. This is then either used straight away as fresh sperm, or frozen for future use.

If fresh sperm is used in the ICSI procedure, then events concerning both partners have to be synchronized precisely to maximize the chances of a successful pregnancy. But if frozen sperm can be used, then this simplifies the overall IVF process considerably, from a number of angles. For instance, from the timing angle, the man can give his sperm in advance, and from the location angle, the biopsy may not have to take place at the same clinic or surgery as the one the woman must attend.

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