Infertility Affects Everyone
For every couple sharing a pregnancy announcement, there are many trying to conceive without success. Infertility is the inability to conceive after at least 1 year of trying. This distressing diagnosis impacts 1 in 8 American couples every year. The statistics also show that men have infertility at equal rates as women. Some men suffer from extremely low sperm count, called azoospermia, and need advanced medical help.
Understanding azoospermia
For a successful pregnancy, there must be enough sperm to fertilize the egg during conception. Men produce sperm in the testes, mixing with seminal fluid to create semen. If there is no healthy sperm detected, the man may have azoospermia. Doctors gauge a healthy sperm count as more than 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen. With azoospermia, there is zero sperm detected.
Reasons for azoospermia
There are varied reasons for azoospermia. Fertility specialists will perform multiple tests to determine the root cause. Most cases happen due to a blockage or disruption of the system that carries sperm from the testes. Common examples include cysts, injury, varicocele, or vasectomy. Other reasons could be genetic or hormonal, where the man cannot produce sufficient high-quality sperm. The type of azoospermia helps doctors with treatment.
Turning to ICSI
For obstructive azoospermia, the doctor can perform a surgical procedure to treat the issue. Once the process is successful, there may be an increased chance of pregnancy. In cases where surgery fails or there is low sperm production, ICSI can help. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is an advanced form of in vitro fertilization (IVF). An embryologist injects a single sperm into an egg to help with fertilization. The embryos are then transferred into the woman’s uterus for pregnancy.
Is ICSI the answer?
With IVF, there is enough healthy sperm in the sample for fertilization to happen without assistance. There is no need for ICSI since the success rates are the same. However, studies show that ICSI has fantastic results for men with azoospermia. There is a high success rate compared to other forms of fertility treatment.
Your family’s future with ICSI
Azoospermia can feel like a dead end for men and couples trying to start or grow a family. Sometimes, the condition fails to respond to standard forms of treatment. Assisted reproductive technology (ART), like ICSI, is an effective solution. These treatments bring new hope to the millions of men struggling with infertility.
