FAQ

Problems making sperm — producing too few sperm or none at all

Problems with the sperm’s ability to reach the egg and fertilize it — abnormal sperm shape or structure prevents it from moving correctly

A man can be born with problems that affect his sperm, or a later illness or injury could affect his sperm. Cystic fibrosis, for example, often causes infertility in men.

The number and quality of a man’s sperm can be affected by his overall health and lifestyle. Some things that may reduce sperm number and/or quality include

• Alcohol
• Drugs
• Environmental toxins, including
• pesticides and lead
• Smoking cigarettes
• Health problems
• Medicines
• Radiation treatment and chemotherapy for cancer
• Age

Doctors recommend specific treatments for infertility based on:

Test results
How long the couple has been trying to get pregnant
The age of both the man and woman
The overall health of the partners
Preference of the partners
Doctors often treat infertility in men in the following ways:

Sexual problems:If the man is impotent or has problems with premature ejaculation, doctors can help him address these issues. Behavioral therapy and/or medicines can be used in these cases.

Too few sperm: If the man produces too few sperm, sometimes surgery can correct this problem. In other cases, doctors can surgically remove sperm from the male reproductive tract. Antibiotics can also be used to clear up infections affecting sperm count.

Various fertility drugs are often used to treat women with ovulation problems. It is important to talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of these medicines. You should understand the risks, benefits, and side effects.

Doctors also use surgery to treat some causes of infertility. Problems with a woman’s ovaries, fallopian tubes, or uterus can sometimes be corrected with surgery.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is another type of treatment for infertility. IUI is known by most people as artificial insemination. In this procedure, the woman is injected with specially prepared sperm. Sometimes the woman is also treated with medicines that stimulate ovulation before IUI.

IUI is often used to treat:

• Mild male factor infertility
• Women who have problems with their cervical mucus
• Couples with unexplained infertility

• Age of the partners
• Reason for infertility
• Fertility clinic
• Type of ART
• If the egg is fresh or frozenIf the embryo is fresh or frozen.

The according to the published data the success rates of ART globally for fertility clinics the average percentage of ART cycles using fresh non donor eggs that led to a healthy baby were as follows:

• Above 40.% in women aged 25
• Between 35% to 40 % in women aged 30
• Between 30 % 33 % in women aged 35
• Around 15.% 20 % in women aged 40

ART can time-consuming has cost implications . But it has allowed many couples to have children. The most common complication of ART is multiple fetuses. But this is a problem that can be prevented or minimized in several different ways.

What are the different types of assisted reproductive technology?

Common methods of ART include:

In vitro fertilization (IVF) means fertilization outside of the body. IVF is the most effective ART. It is often used when a woman’s fallopian tubes are blocked or when a man produces too few sperm. Doctors treat the woman with a drug that causes the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Once mature, the eggs are removed from the woman. They are put in a dish in the lab along with the man’s sperm for fertilization. After three to five days, healthy embryos are implanted in the woman’s uterus.

Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) or tubal embryo transfer is similar to IVF. Fertilization occurs in the laboratory. Then the very young embryo is transferred to the fallopian tube instead of the uterus.

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) involves transferring eggs and sperm into the woman’s fallopian tube. So fertilization occurs in the woman’s body. Few practices offer GIFT as an option.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is often used for couples in which there are serious problems with the sperm. Sometimes, it is also used for older couples or for those with failed IVF attempts. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected into a mature egg. Then the embryo is transferred to the uterus or fallopian tube.

Intracytoplasmic morphologically-selected sperm injection (IMSI) IMSI begins with standard IVF procedure. The female partner is given ovulation-inducing drugs, and the resulting mature eggs are then harvested from her ovaries and prepared for fertilization in the laboratory. The embryologist will then use the high-powered microscope to examine the male partner’s semen sample. He then uses a long, thin, hollow needle to pick up the desired sperm cell. He holds the egg cell in a special pipette, and then uses the needle to push the sperm cell through the outer shell of the egg and into its inner area, where fertilization can take place. The eggs and sperm are then left for 24 hours, during with fertilization is likely to occur. If this is indeed what happens, the now fertilized eggs (embryos) are transferred back to the woman’s uterus where hopefully at least one will implant, resulting in a pregnancy.

ART procedures sometimes involve the use of donor eggs (eggs from another woman), donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos. Donor eggs are sometimes used for women who cannot produce eggs. Also, donor eggs or donor sperm are sometimes used when the woman or man has a genetic disease that can be passed on to the baby.