Most common questions about “Spermogram” and its effect

In this article Pons Medical Research will help you to learn how to have the child even with not so good results of Spermogram analysis

When you select your surrogacy agency expert in PGD IVF and IVF Cycle you must ensure the surrogacy agency is also expert in Spermogram analysis and meeting all PGD Steps during IVF Cycle.

Let's start with general concepts. For pregnancy, naturally, 10 million spermatozoa of category A + B are needed (A - with rectilinear movement, B - with not very). The same requirements are for intrauterine insemination and IVF. How can we count the percent of useful spermatozoa’s? We remember the school course of mathematics. In each spermogram there is a "total number of spermatozoa" and "category A + B" in percent. All that is needed is to calculate this percentage of the total. And, if the resulting figure is less than 10 million, this is not very good, and the less it is, the worse. For example if 1 million, you have only one choice: to be treated (and in some cases, it can be cured) or to do IVF-ICSI. In case the amount is not significantly reduced, you can try intrauterine insemination. It will help all spermatozoa get into the uterus and give them a chance to meet with the egg.

But it would be too simple if the sperm were evaluated only in this way. There are still other tests that can be performed to evaluate the quality of sperm like MAP - test and DNA fragmentation.

Today we will tell you about the morphology of spermatozoa. Morphology shows how many sperm are in the sample that meets all external requirements for a decent spermatozoon. The indicator depends on the evaluation criteria.

What does low morphology mean? About the fact that almost all spermatozoa, to put it mildly, are not handsome: they have heads of different shapes and sizes, it is possible that there are some of them with two heads or two tails. The worst thing about this is that, although the shape of the spermatozoid is not ideal, it is nevertheless fully capable of fertilizing an ovum. What will be the result of such combination? that the embryo will not be of the best quality. Therefore, the chances are high that the pregnancy stops at some point.

Despite all the above (which is true), there are still enough cases when the pregnancy resulting from low morphology sperm produced beautiful children (which in a few words mean that the morphology of the sperm is not related to the appearance or health of the child but only to the probability the onset of pregnancy and its bearing on very early terms).

Next, I'll talk about the MAP test and DNA fragmentation.
Today the most difficult and until recently not very popular study of sperm is namely DNA-fragmentation.
Why it was unpopular? Because there were no effective methods to combat increased DNA fragmentation. And the fact of ascertaining its availability to patients or doctors did not bring joy.
What is it? Let's start from afar. Everyone knows that the spermatozoid is very small. Of course thanks to this, it can travel into the egg, but all this at the cost of a significant reduction in its size compared to other cells. This said, it does not cease to be a cell (though sexual), and having all the structural elements that are in other cells.
Where does all this fit? The genetic material, namely DNA is usually stored on special proteins which are very large and takes up a lot of space, there is not much space in the sperm head.
Therefore, when forming a spermatozoid, DNA must part with proteins and spin into an incredibly compressed spiral, repeatedly twisted. In the process of twisting, the DNA is damaged - or fragmented. Normally, all spermatozoa have a slight DNA fragmentation and up to 15% of spermatozoa have increased DNA fragmentation. If this percentage is higher, the quality of embryos will be lower, and the frequency of interrupted pregnancies is higher. Earlier it was only possible to try to treat this problem and treatment was not helpful at all. But some fertility specialist have an extremely inquisitive mind, and the owners of this mind have come up with a method of magnetic selection of spermatozoa MACS, which allows separating spermatozoa with increased DNA fragmentation from normal ones. Now, with the advent of this method, interest in DNA fragmentation has renewed.

What do you know about the MAR-test? As we already know our immunity can produce antibodies to anything, even to its tissues (these processes are called autoimmune). So sperm cells (in the opinion of the immune system) are enemies to be destroyed.
Considering that spermatozoa are genetically alien to the male organism that gave birth to them, immunity is much more likely to be pursued by them. Normally, this does not happen, there are protective mechanisms in the body for this case. But, for example, the man had an inflammation in the testicles and their appendages (no, he did not walk and you did not change, the intestinal microflora was activated by hypothermia).
Immunity, begins to fight with infection and through the development of antibodies. Immunity ceases to distinguish and indiscriminately produces antibodies to everything that it sees in the focus of inflammation and sperm, too.

Similar processes trigger an autoimmune inflammatory process in the testicle.

The MAP test shows what percentage of spermatozoa are bound by antibodies (a direct MAP test, I like it somehow more). Or an indirect MAP test shows the amount of antibodies in the sperm (but it is not known how many spermatozoa are associated with them).

Because each antibody binds several spermatozoa, this leads to the formation of a bunch of spermatozoa adhering to each other, which are so firmly attached to each other that they are no longer able to freely fertilize the ovum. With negative values of a direct MAP test, 20% of all pregnancies are not so easy and 80% do not occur at all, which makes necessary to go to the andrologue and be treated (though it is not always possible to improve MAP-test values).

Or go to the reproductologist and do IVF-ICSI (this possibility remains always, even if the treatment did not lead to anything).

Pons Medical Research is a leading surrogacy provider in Ukraine with expertise in PGD IVF & IVF Cycle when performing PGD Steps During IVF Cycle. Pons Medical Research wishes you a good pregnancy and a healthy child!

Written by;
Dr. Nataly Yakovleva
Pons Medical Research