Semen Quality

When assessing sperm quality, the embryologist counts the number of sperm cells and evaluates the motility and morphology of the sperm. The good sperm cells look normal and move fast and pointing forward.The raw semen sample contains many dead cells, making it difficult to assess sperm quality correctly (see the top video-link). After purification, the dead cells are removed, and only the best sperm with the highest fertilization capacity are left (see video link # 2).

Number
The number of fertile sperm is found by gradient centrifuging. The embryologist notes both the number, morphology and motility of the sperm in the raw semen sample, and again after gradient centrifuging. If the number of normally appearing sperm with good motility is under 5 million total, there are reduced chances of conception by artificial insemination or IVF treatment. In this case we recommend IVF treatment with micro-insemination (ICSI).

Motility
When performing insemination treatment, the sperm must move their way from the uterus into the far end of the fallopian tubes where the egg is waiting to be fertilized. If no sperm are moving in a fast and progressive forward direction, they are not able to find out into the fallopian tubes and fertilize the egg (see video-link #3 with poor sperm quality before purification and #4 after purification). In this case, IVF treatment with micro-insemination (ICSI) is preferable.

Morphology
To fertilize the egg, the sperm must penetrate through the zona pellucida. This membrane or eggshell is not like the shell of a hen's egg. It resembles more a thick, dense knitting. Only sperm that look normal can get through this dense network. Therefore, an assessment of sperm morphology is very important when assessing a semen sample. Sperm with too small or too thick heads, dual head rudiments or double tails can not penetrate the membrane and fertilize the egg.