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NEW Fertility - 746 - What to know more?

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Male Infertility

Couples who present with an infertility problem it is recognised that around 24% will have a male factor issue.

Yorkshire Fertility is proud of its specialist male fertility clinic, one of a few in the country where our fertility consultant works alongside Mr Karol Rogawski to thoroughly investigate gentleman to try to find the cause of their infertility.

We are able to offer surgical sperm retrieval to help male infertility patients where appropriate allowing gentleman to use their own sperm for treatment. 

We also offer a donation programme whereby sperm can be obtained from a donor source and used where sperm retrieval is not possible or has been unsuccessful. 

Conditions that may result in male infertility include:

  • low sperm count or quality
  • problems with the tubes carrying sperm
  • problems getting an erection
  • problems ejaculating.

Other factors that may play a part in infertility include:

  • having had inflamed testes (orchitis)
  • a past bacterial infection that caused scarring and blocked tubes within the epididymis as it joins the vas
  • having received medical treatment such as drug treatment, radiotherapy or surgery – for example to correct a hernia, undescended testes or twisted testicles
  • genetic problems
  • diabetes
  • lifestyle factors such as being overweight or having a job that involves contact with chemicals or radiation.

Male fertility is also thought to decline with age, although to what extent is unclear.

Although there have been some tremendous advances over the last few years in the treatments of male infertility, there are a number of couples where these treatments are not appropriate, or if they have been tried, have not been successful. The alternative for these couples is to consider the use of donor insemination treatment.

Donor Sperm

The donor sperm that we use is provided by donors that have been carefully screened and selected. Very occasionally when we have a couple where the man has particular physical characteristics, which cannot be matched by our donors, we obtain sperm from other licensed sperm banks. All men that supply donor sperm are carefully screened for a family history of inherited diseases and medical conditions. They have a full infection screen including two tests for HIV, performed 6 months apart. In fact all the donor sperm that is used comes from frozen samples, stored for a period of 6 months quarantine. The identity of the men who supply the sperm is anonymous. However, limited, non-identifying information about the donor's background is generally available.

Selecting the Right Donor Sperm

The donor sperm selected would come from a man who has similar physical characteristics to the male partner, including the blood group if possible. We record carefully the physical characteristics of the male partner, including his hair colour, complexion, build, eye colour, height and weight. These are then matched from the appropriate donor.