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Since roughly half of all infertility cases are due to male-factor causes, a semen analysis is one of the very first tests conducted when conception is not occurring. Relatively inexpensive, painless, and less physically invasive than many of the female's diagnostic infertility tests, the simple but thorough examination of a man's sperm can answer a great many questions early in the diagnostic phase. To proceed with any infertility treatment when only the female has been examined would be potentially wasteful of time, energy, and money.
The authors of one study concluded that results of semen analysis alone are not useful in estimating a couple's fertility potential. Generally, it may be said that morphology may have a greater impact of all the parameters; volume and motility problems can usually be overcome with several assisted reproductive techniques.
An older study used the percentage of morphologically-normal sperm to predict fertilization and pregnancy in an IVF program, concluding that there was more success in the groups with normal sperm morphologic features greater than 14%. Another study demonstrated that a newer way of looking at sperm morphology, the sperm deformity index (defined as the average number of deformities per sperm assessed), is a reliable predictor of fertilization outcome via in vitro.
© Tracy Morris
