Andrology

A man’s fertility depends on the quality and number of his sperm. If the sperm count is low or if the quality is poor, it may be very difficult to achieve a pregnancy. Aiming to be in optimal health by following a healthy diet and addressing lifestyle factors, such as smoking will improve the chance of having a healthy baby both naturally and through fertility treatment.

Your fertility specialist will be able to identify the reasons behind male infertility. Our andrology laboratory provides the specialised testing required for diagnosis. Routine tests performed on semen include assessment of sperm quantity, sperm quality, movement, shape and anti-sperm antibodies. More complicated, tests such as the identification of sperm DNA damage are available where needed. The most appropriate fertility treatment (IUIIVF or ICSI) can then be recommended to you.

When it is suspected that sperm are not reaching or penetrating the egg, resulting in failure of fertilisation, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), may be needed. ICSI involves injecting a single sperm into an egg, therefore overcoming the problem of fertilisation failure in most cases. More detailed and innovative sperm selection techniques are available that can improve the identification of healthy sperm chosen for injection into a healthy egg.

Due to the fact semen samples need to be analysed within an hour of production, every clinic has semen collection facilities and a diagnostic andrology laboratory.

Advanced treatments such as surgical retrieval (TESA or MESA) and ICSI now give many couples the chance to have a baby where just 20 years ago it would have been impossible.