Male fertility studies can help diagnose whatever is preventing a couple from conceiving naturally and then address it in the correct manner. Diagnostic tests are carried out on both members of a couple as an inability to fall pregnant can be on behalf of the male counterpart.
Male fertility studies are tailored examinations which are administered depending on the person, case and needs in order to produce better results. It is imperative fertility studies at IFER Clinic include the following:
- Seminogram (semen analysis): is the principal diagnostic evaluation of male fertility which allows us to determine how a sample behaves in the laboratory and what technique is recommended.
- What is studied? Both the macroscopic (appearance, viscosity, pH, volume, liquefaction time) and microscopic aspects (concentration of spermatozoa per millilitre, sperm motility, sperm morphology) of the sample are primarily studied.
- Sperm capacitation can also be administered to determine the REM (motile spermatozoa count). Sperm capacitation consists of processing the sample to recover spermatozoa with the best motility which can be used in various assisted human reproduction treatments.
What does this test tell us?
Data permits diagnosis of male factors based upon the World Health Organisation’s reference values (2010).
| Reference values according to the WHO (2010) | |
| Volume | ≥ 1,5 ml |
| pH | ≥ 7.2 |
| Sperm concentration | ≥ 15 M/ml |
| Progressive sperm mobility | ≥ 32% |
| Sperm morphology | ≥ 4 % |
| Sperm alterations (nomenclature according to WHO 2010) | |
| Normozoospermia | Concentration, motility and morphology of spermatozoa are normal |
| Oligozoospermia | Low sperm count |
| Asthenozoopermia | Low sperm mobility |
| Teratozoospermia | Abnormal morphology |
| Azoospermia | Absence of sperm |
Other tests performed in the male fertility study
- Haemogram: A blood test in which three basic types of cells found in the bloodstream are measured in total and percentage: the erythrocyte series (red series), the leukocyte series (white series) and the platelet series.
- Serology: Analysis which detects antibodies in the blood as a result of exposure to or prior presence of a particular pathogenic microorganism. Serologies of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and HIV are examined.