Sperm Preservation: Can It Help Solve Male Infertility Problems?

Fatherhood is as fulfilling an experience as motherhood. While a man may not physically experience the pains of pregnancy like an expectant mom, the related anxiety and nervousness is equal, if not more. And when it comes to their baby’s wellbeing and happiness, fathers ensure to go an extra mile to provide their children the best of everything. Probably why, all this, among many other things, makes a father a child’s first superhero!

However, fulfilling fatherhood dreams too can hit a road bump or two due to male infertility problems. While female infertility is commonly believed to be the cause behind a couple’s inability to conceive, not many are aware that male infertility problems can be equally responsible, if not more.

Don’t believe us? Then here’s a startling statistic:

Globally, over 48.5 million couples (15% of couples) are affected by infertility issues. Study reveals that males contribute to 50% of infertility cases, overall.¹

In the last 50 years, as per another study, the average human sperm concentration and total sperm counts have dropped by 51.6% and 62.3% respectively!²

So, let’s discuss more about male infertility problems, the factors behind them, and available treatment options.

What Is Male Infertility?

Male infertility problems can simply be defined as the inability to conceive even after a year or two of unprotected sexual intercourse.³

Normal male reproduction is dependant on factors such as:⁴

• Production of healthy sperm with the ability to fertilise the egg
• Have normal erection and ejaculate to ensure the sperm can reach the egg.

Male infertility problems can be caused due to various factors with the primary reasons being related to sperm including abnormal or low sperm production or prevention of sperm delivery due to blockages.³

Other contributing factors include:³

• Chronic health problems or illnesses
• Injuries to private parts
• Lifestyle choices and other such factors

One of them could also be advanced paternal age, which we’ll discuss later in this blog.⁵ But first, let’s first get detailed information about the primary male infertility problem - sperm health!

Sperm Count - What Is Normal?

A normal healthy male ejaculate’s Total Sperm Numbers should range from 39 million to 701 million sperms, per ejaculate as per WHO.⁶ Anything less than that could be an indication of sperm health  problems. Therefore, a semen analysis is necessary to gather information about current fertility status.

SpermScore is a comprehensive sperm testing that is also WHO compliant. It tests 11 sperm parameters and 14 sperm conditions that give a complete insight into male reproductive  health. What’s more? You get an expert-reviewed digital SMART report within 24 hours!

Based on the outcome of the semen analysis, your doctor will give you appropriate medical advice to address fertility concerns.

Advanced Paternal Age - How It Impacts Male Fertility

It might come as a surprise, but advanced age not only impacts female fertility but can also adversely affect men, causing male infertility problems.⁷

A review of some studies have shown that with advancing paternal age, a decline in sperm count and sperm motility had been demonstrated. This review also showed that men who were more than 45 years of age took a longer time to help their female partner achieve pregnancy.⁵ Thus, ageing not only affects a man’s sperm quality, but also reduces chances of a successful conception.⁵

So, does it mean that you should plan fatherhood even if you’re not ready for it yet? Or, be anxious about losing your chance to become a father if you happen to suffer from a chronic illness, looking to embrace fatherhood later in life  or other factors that can potentially affect your fertility?

Certainly not! Because with every problem comes a solution. Here’s where Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and Cryopreservation of Sperm comes in! Excited to know more? Let’s jump right into the deets:

Male Infertility Problems And Its Solutions

Nowadays, many fertility clinics offer Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment options. Assisted Reproductive Technology refers to treatments that involve handling eggs and sperms, and embryos.⁸ Most of these procedures work on the general principle of surgical egg removal from ovaries, fusing it with the sperm in a laboratory to make an embryo (fertilisation), and returning it to the body of the mother.⁹

The most common ART treatment is In Vitro Fertilisation which works on the same principle as described above¹⁰, where the lab-fertilised embryo is placed back directly into a woman’s uterus.

Here’s a quick look at other ART treatments:

• Artificial Insemination (AI)- This process involves injecting healthy sperm into the partner's uterus or cervix, thereby, facilitating sperm entry into the fallopian tubes to fertilise the egg.⁴ 
• Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)- Healthy sperm is placed directly into the uterus during ovulation to improve the chances of conception.¹¹
• Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer (ZIFT)- This procedure is similar to IVF except that instead of placing the fertilised egg in the uterus, it is placed into the fallopian tubes.¹²
• Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)- This procedure is carried out by injecting a single, healthy sperm directly into an egg, thereby, ensuring fertilisation under a microscope. This fertilised egg is then transferred to the partner’s uterus.⁴
• Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT)- In this procedure, the egg and sperm are immediately transferred into the woman’s fallopian tubes. Thereafter. fertilisation occurs in the fallopian tubes, unlike other procedures, where egg and sperm are combined in the lab petri dish.¹³

These treatments are recommended on a case-to-case basis. While the success of these ART procedures are dependent on many different factors, the quality of the sperm can also play a major role. 

To ensure this, you can opt to preserve your sperm prior to an ART procedure. Sperm banking makes the needed sperm more readily available to the fertility clinic at the time of the treatment. And the earlier (younger) you decide to preserve the sperm, the healthier they will be.

SpermVault - The Ideal Choice For Sperm Preservation!

Sperm banking is a process wherein sperm is collected, frozen and preserved for future use.¹⁴

LifeCell’s SpermVault is India’s first long-term sperm cryo-preservation facility to offer at-home self sample collection. It offers sperm banking for all those men who wish to preserve their seeds of parenting and nurture their dream of parenthood anytime! 

When you sign up for SpermVault program, you’ll be given an at-home sample collection kit box that allows you complete privacy to collect your semen sample.

Upon successful collection, you can book a sample pick up and ship it to our labs, where it undergoes a semen analysis with SpermScore.

Thereafter, the sperm sample undergoes advanced processing where healthy sperms are filtered by double density gradient centrifugation (DDGC) before being sent for cryo-preservation. It stays here until a retrieval is requested.

SpermVault offers you many other benefits such as:

• Convenient sample collection at home that also ensures complete confidentiality
• 6-12 cryovials storage - based on the chosen plans 
• Storage plans of - 1, 5 and 10 years 
• Easy upgradation of storage plans 
• Retrieval on demand
• Quality guarantee and disaster relief coverage

To Conclude

In our society, we often notice that men who are desirous of parenthood are usually not very vocal about it. And, this situation gets worse for men who are enduring male infertility problems. Such issues are not discussed as often as they should be due to societal stigmas and the feeling of shame. However, instead of brushing them under the carpet, it is important to work towards it by addressing these problems.

Despite the many infertility issues plaguing male fertility, there is hope with fertility treatments and sperm cryopreservation. By choosing to store your sperm while you are still young and healthy, you can overcome the male infertility hurdles and look forward to becoming a parent in future. And, with LifeCell’s SpermVault, you can be  assured that your best swimmers are in safe hands!

For booking a private sperm banking service, Email us at care@lifecell.in, Call 1800 266 5533