Special Sperm Selection

It is a method performed to couples who cannot achieve pregnancy despite good sperm count, motility and morphology, who result in miscarriage even if pregnancy is achieved, or who do not have normal embryos in the genetic analysis of embryos. It is a practice in which DNA damages that occur in the post-maturation process of the genetic material in the head of the sperm are excluded and healthy sperms are selected and processed.

What Is Sperm DNA Damage?

In about 35% of couples with infertility problems, only the male factor is the main reason. When the female factor is included, this rate reaches 40% – 50%.
Currently, routine semen analysis is used to evaluate male infertility, but in approximately 25% of men with this problem, despite normal semen analysis results, the definitive diagnosis of infertility cannot be made by routine semen analysis. For this reason, the need for new markers that can precisely distinguish between infertile and non-infertile men and predict pregnancy outcomes has increased and attention has been focused on sperm DNA integrity.

How is this test performed?

In addition to routine semen analysis to men in Centrum IVF Center, sperm DNA damage test is also requested according to the situation and the sperm selection method to be made according to the results of these is decided. When necessary, microchip method is performed by taking consecutive sperm samples from the patients. It has been shown in studies that the sperm cells obtained after this procedure contain a higher proportion of health DNA material.
The rate of developing good embryos increases by 25-30% in patients who are microchipped, The rate of reaching the blastocyst embryo level, defined as day 5, increases significantly, and the rates of embryo regression and arrest also decrease. Especially in the group of patients who smoke, who have been exposed to intense heat or radiation, chemical or long-term drug treatment, the success rate increases even more.

How Much Does Sperm Selection Have a Positive Effect on IVF Treatment Rates?

This method provides the selection of sperms that preserve the DNA integrity of the sperm and offers a great advantage in terms of successful fertilization and embryo development. The way to IVF success is to reach the best embryo.

IMSI Technique (Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection)

In IVF treatment, the procedure is performed by selecting the best quality sperm in terms of shape and mobility to fertilize the egg during the ICSI procedure. But in some cases, routinely used methods may not be enough to achieve success.

With the microscope used during the ICSI procedure, sperm cells are magnified 200 to 400 times. For IMSI, thanks to the special equipment added to the microscope, sperm cells can be magnified up to 8000 times and a more detailed examination and elimination can be performed. Previously unobservable anomalies are detected and sperm cells are selected. Thus, better quality embryos and pregnancy rate can be achieved. Many studies show that anomalies in the head area of the sperm cell indicate DNA damage.

Imsi technique can be performed in patients with sperm problems, in patients with unsuccessful IVF attempts, in cases of miscarriages, in patients with poor embryo quality, in cases of unexplained infertility.