Male factor infertility is a medical condition that results in issues with sperm production or function of healthy sperm.
In many cases, male factor infertility is treatable. Reach Fertility offers a range of services including basic evaluation and testing to state-of-the-art microsurgical techniques including percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) and testicular sperm extraction (TESE) in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) setting.
Diagnosing Male Factor Infertility - Semen Analysis
A semen analysis is a simple lab test that determines the health of a patient's semen. Semen health is determined by the quantity (number), motility (movement), and morphology (shape) of sperm present in each sample. A "normal" ejaculate sample will contain at least 39 million sperm, 40% to 80% of which are strong "swimmers". Most sperm in the sample should also have a normal morphology consisting of an oval-shaped head, and a tail that has no abnormalities. Semen analysis testing is done on site in our andrology laboratory and results are available within 48 hours.
Other diagnostic measures may include a physical examination, blood tests, hormone evaluation, and genetic testing.
The most common causes of male infertility include:
- Hormone Disorders - Improper function of a man's hypothalamus or pituitary glands can contribute to infertility.
- Genetic Disorders - conditions such as Klinefelter's syndrome, Y-chromosome microdeletion, myotonic dystrophy, or other disorders may result in low sperm count or now sperm production at all.
- Irregular testicular or ejaculatory function - may be caused by unhealthy lifestyle, trauma to the testes, cancer treatment or use of certain medications.
