The Leading Lab For

Male Infertility

Q&A

faq

Not at all. The purpose of the diagnosis is aiding your physician in evaluating the success of the fertility treatment, considering many other factors. For that matter, if out of 200 cells scanned during evaluation no normal sperm was detected, the doctor may suggest ICSI instead of conventional IVF, or even recommend [morphological sorting of sperm] , since the chance of a normal cell to fertilize the egg (without intervention) will be less than 0.5% (less than one cell out of 200). The diagnosis therefore helps determine the degree of intervention required for the success of the treatment.

Certainly. To this end, we offer the [extended spermatozoa search] . This method allows us to locate even scant few spermatozoa in the ejaculate. Furthermore, using a novel technology, we can [freeze] them for future use in case no fresh spermatozoa are found on OPU day. For your convenience, there is a [Guidelines Page] detailing the requirements for conducting the search.

Although the age of 40 is rightly considered the new 30, unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to eggs. As the years go by, their ability to undergo fertilization and integrate the genetic load of the sperm into theirs decreases considerably. The sperm cells, millions of which are produced every day, contain many genetic defects that are “corrected” by the egg during fertilization. However, as the egg ages, its ability to cover up the sperm defects decreases, and with it, the chance for pregnancy. But not all is lost. [Morphological selection of sperm] offered by us, allows to choose the most structurally normal sperm, thus increasing the chances of fertilization and embryo development significantly.

The donors are selected by sperm banks according to the parameters of sperm concentration per milliliter and the percentage of sperm cells in motion. However, we must take into consideration that in all men the vast majority of sperm are flawed for the simple reason that production of 100 million cells per day does not allow quality control. Therefore, even when the donor has the most impressive general sperm parameters, it is quite possible that there are no normal sperm cells, or that their percentage is so low that the chance that a normal cell will fertilize the egg will be 0. To overcome this, we offer the [ morphological sorting of sperm] , during which we choose the most proper spermatozoa for fertilization, significantly increasing its chance of success.

No problem at all. Your husband can bring us a sperm sample in advance. We will freeze it and thaw on the day of insemination. However, it has to be taken into consideration that MFC is not a sperm bank and, therefore, does not provide long-term sperm storage services.

There is currently no evidence of any impairment of fetal development due to the use of frozen sperm. However, it should be taken into account that the process of cryopreservation is likely to compromise sperm survival and its ability to fertilize the egg. Therefore, it is not recommended to freeze sperm for convenience, but only in situations where there is no other way.

There is nothing to worry about. For any study showing that there is a (minimal) increase in the percentage of developmental and/or cognitive disorders in children born as a result of micromanipulation compared to naturally-conceived children, there is at least one study showing lack of association between the two. But the important thing to consider is the simple fact that without said technology, these children would never have been born! Therefore, even if there is some minor increase in developmental disorders (which is highly questionable), it should be related to defects in the eggs or sperm, due to which the fertilization was not possible in the first place.

Although [the morphological sorting] usually takes a few hours, there is no need to get up so early. Contrary to popular belief among patients, fertilization is not performed immediately after OPU. In fact, both eggs and sperm can wait for several hours in the lab, without decline in their potential. Therefore, if sperm is brought to the laboratory at around 8:00am, the sorting will probably end at around 12:00pm, and the eggs will wait no longer than 3 hours.

Yes and it is even recommended. Fresh semen is very viscous and difficult to work with. Therefore, semen given in the lab must stand for about half an hour until complete liquefaction. Bringing sperm from home will save unnecessary waiting and will expedite the treatment. However, if the trip to the lab should take more than an hour and a half, it is better to give a sample in the lab.

In general, the recommendation of the World Health Organization is 3-5 days of abstinence. However, based on laboratory studies and our experience, we have seen that in cases where there is a need for [search rare sperm cells] , increasing the number of days of abstinence to 10-14 days increases the chance of finding sperm in the ejaculate, since more sperm cells (provided, of course, that there is sperm production at all) will accumulate in the epididymis before emission.

With cautious optimism – yes. Fertility treatments available today allow about 50% of those with the syndrome have children using the techniques of [micro-TESE]  and [ICSI]  . However, a significant percentage of men with the syndrome are defined as “mosaic”, meaning that some of their cells contain the extra X chromosome and others do not. In these men there is a chance of finding sperm cells by an [extended spermatozoa search] , and in very rare cases, there are men who have enough spermatozoa for [ICSI] just as is!

No. MFC is not a sperm bank and therefore does not offer storage services for sperm, except rare spermatozoa retrieved by an [extended search] or sperm for fertilization of donor eggs. However, should any sample remain in the lab after the conclusion of the fertility treatments, you will be asked to transfer them to a sperm bank of your choice.

According to the Ministry of Health directive, it is not possible to store any sample of body fluid of human origin not approved as free of hepatitis and HIV viruses for fear of infecting other samples in the same storage container.

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