Many azoospermic patients with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) might be candidates for sperm aspiration as part of their in vitro fertilization procedure. Because sperm might be present in some but not all parts of the testes of such men, multiple samplings of the testicular tissue are usually performed to increase the probability of finding sperm in NOA patients. These samplings can be done by 2 methods: 1) TESE (testicular sperm extraction), which is actually a surgical biopsy of the testis; or 2) TESA (testicular sperm aspiration), which is performed by sticking …

This procedure is very similar to a MESA, but only a local anaesthetic is required. The surgeon uses a small needle to aspirate sperm directly from the epididymas, which, as in the MESA procedure is taken back to the RMU laboratory to be frozen and used at a later date or used immediately during an ICSI cycle.
Sperm
It is possible to freeze sperm prior to a treatment cycle, so as to ensure that there is sufficient sperm available at the time of your partners egg collection. Sperm can also be frozen …

1. Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration
In addition to retrieving sperm from the epididymis through open microsurgical techniques, percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) is also possible. The advantages to this technique are that it can be performed without surgical scrotal exploration, it can be repeated easily and at low cost, and it does not require an operating microscope or expertise in microsurgery. The procedure as described by Craft et al. has been performed under local or general anesthesia. After induction of anesthesia, the testis is stabilized and the epididymis is held between …

Although reports on microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration with IVF appeared in the literature as early as 1984, the first live birth was not reported until 1990. As it was first described, the procedure of microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration involved careful dissection of the epididymis under the operating microscope and incision of a single tubule.
Once incised, fluid spills from the epididymal tubule and pools in the epididymal bed. This pooled fluid is then aspirated. Because the epididymis is richly vascularized, this technique invariably leads to contamination by blood cells that may …

IUI is usually suggested for those couples who have been trying to conceive for a year or more without success and have been found to have infertility issues. It is always recommended to perform a complete infertility examination before undergoing this process.
In general, artificial insemination is used when:
A woman’s cervical mucus is scant or hostile to sperm. Through IUI, sperm directly reaches the uterus, bypassing the cervix and the cervical mucus.
The man has a low sperm count, though the sperm should be healthy.
Male infertility due to antibodies to his own …

The most ideal time to perform a IUI is within six hours of ovulation, either before or after. When there are male infertility issues many doctors advise that the IUI is done after ovulation. If there are female infertility issues, it’s usually advised that you do the IUI before the ovulation as chances are higher when the sperm is there just waiting for the egg.
When timing of the IUI is based on and HCG injection, the IUI is usually done between 24 and 48 hours later. Average timing is to …

Intrauterine insemination has a higher success rate than intravaginal insemination or intra-cervical insemination as it places the good motile sperm near the Fallopian tubes where there will be one or more eggs available for insemination.
IUIs can be performed either with the partner’s sperm or with donor sperm. It is recommended that the patient abstain from sexual intercourse for two to three days before the procedure. The male partner is asked to produce a semen sample by masturbation, one to two hours before the procedure is to be performed or a …

It is sometimes also called sperm preparation or spinning. It is a laboratory technique for separating sperm from semen, and separating motile sperm from non-motile sperm, for use in assisted reproduction (IUI, IVF).
The washing technique for near normal specimens is mixing the ejaculate after liquefaction with the appropriate washing medium followed by centrifugation. (A centrifuge is a machine that separates materials with different densities by spinning them at high speed.) The supernatant is discarded and the sediment (sperm rich fraction) is re-suspended in more washing medium. This process is repeated …

Timing is more important for IUI than it is for intercourse. The reason is that, during intercourse, sperm travels through the cervical canal. There are glands and mucous in the cervix that sustains the sperm and acts as a reservoir that releases sperm into the uterus slowly over several days.
During an intrauterine insemination, the sperm are released into the uterus. The sperm do not remain viable for as long a period of time. Consequently, the sperm must be inseminated close to the time of ovulation.
One method to time an IUI …

There are many factors that determine how successful an IUI procedure will be. Some of these are the same factors that apply to any fertility treatment: age of the female, ovarian function, fallopian tube blockage, pelvic adhesions and other additional causes of infertility, whether fertility medications were also used etc.
One important factor that is specific to intrauterine insemination is the amount of motile sperm that is inserted into the uterus. Several studies have indicated that if a man has a low number of progressively motile sperm after the sperm …