All that glitters is not gold. And not every pretty and well moving sperm is alright from inside.
Whether the DNA inside the sperm is complete and without breaks, it has a great importance for the further development of the embryo. When the egg is fertilized with a sperm with damaged DNA, the embryo development may be stopped or genetic defects and later miscarriage may occur.
The breakthroughs in DNA can be caused by a number of reasons: From some kind of a failure to produce sperm to poor diet, stress and a lack of sleep. The action of free radicals cannot be completely avoided today.
The DNA integrity is not dependent on other spermiogram parameters, as proven by the test results, the distribution is shown on the following charts.
There have been over 3.000 of DNA integrity tests performed and evaluated at the Helios Sanatorium. In the first chart we can see the distribution of sperm DNA fragmentation values in men with normal spermiogram, on the other one values in men with a pathological spermiogram.
Approximately every fourth to fifth man with a normal spermiogram has deteriorated DNA integrity!
Based on these results, we consider the DNA integrity test as one of the basic tests for male fertility, and we recommend that it to be performed by all patients regardless of the previous sperm outcome. This test goes through all our sperm donors.
Depending on the share of sperm with fragmented DNA, we recommend:
Over 10 % of fragmented DNA sperm: Increase the frequency of ejaculation, shorten the period of sexual abstinence before the sperm collection for 1-2 days, antioxidant rich diet, improve lifestyle (quit smoking, enough sleep, avoid stress, etc.).
Over 20 % of fragmented DNA sperm: Before fertilization proceeding MACS and proceeding PICSI at discretion.
Over 50 % of fragmented DNA sperm: Consider a surgical sampling of sperm directly from testis (TESE) or using donated sperm.
For a male fertility diagnosis it is important to choose a center, that has sufficient experience with it.
Ask your doctor for a thorough examination, so as to help you achieve your goal as quickly as possible.