Frozen Sperm Last Long, But Age Still a Factor

This past August, twin girls were born to a woman in Minnesota following IVF using donor sperm. The real news here is that the sperm had been donated and cryopreserved in 1971.

This news article on TwinCities.com offers interesting details about the donor and his journey to “carry on his family's bloodline.” The story is also yet another that points to the resiliency of sperm cells and their viability for fertility treatment by patients who need to use frozen donor specimens to conceive.

The article also importantly points out that even our amazing assisted reproductive technology cannot completely defeat the power of passing time's impact on fertility. All that could be revealed in the media about the donor's age was that he was at least 25 years old when his deposit was made. Presumably, since the donor participated in the selection of a couple in this unusual case, he was not too far from age 25 in 1971.

While men have always been thought to be able to father children later in old age than can women, we are now learning that, in reality, there are greater chances of older men passing on inheritable mutations. Reproductive specialists recommend that young men who will face impaired fertility – such as from cancer treatment or even being in harm's way in terms of military deployment or job-related risks – can take steps to preserve their future fertility by banking their sperm.

~ Dr. Sonja Kristiansen M.D.

Is IUI All You Need?

Did you know that many fertility patients don't need IVF? With all of the information about in vitro fertilization that goes around the Internet, it might seem otherwise. But the truth is that many people need a far simpler boost in fertility than IVF affords.

Intrauterine insemination, sometimes simply called “artificial insemination”, is very often a first step for fertility patients who have no structural infertility conditions, like blocked fallopian tubes. The insemination itself is conducted in less than a day within the clinic, and patients are able to return immediately to work and other daily activities. Prior to the actual insemination procedure, the woman may or may not use fertility medications – oral or injectable, depending on her body's needs – to optimize the number of eggs she ovulates during that treatment cycle. Then when tests indicate that she is near ovulation, semen (from either a partner or a donor) is introduced to the uterus via a tiny catheter threaded through the cervix.

Placement of the sperm cells directly into the uterus via IUI allows us to bypass what's sometimes called “hostile” cervical mucus, a condition in which the woman's naturally-occurring mucus has properties that prevent sperm from reaching their destination. IUI also works well for women who have timing issues that prevent intercourse from being the optimal route; for example, some active military couples have frozen semen prior to deployment, for use with IUI at a future date. IUI enables even fertile women without male partners to use donor sperm in a clinically safe manner. Women with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) also are often quite successful in getting pregnant with medicated IUI.

There are cases in which trying IUI might be more wasteful of the patient's time, money, and effort, including patients with:

• Tubal factor infertility
• Ovarian failure, or elevated Day 3 FSH levels
• Severe male-factor infertility
• Woman's age over mid- to late-30's

It is recommended that patients in such cases consider using IVF, in vitro fertilization.

~Dr. Sonja Kristiansen MD