Why frozen sperm is effective as fresh sperm – expert
President, Academy of Medicine Specialties and Secretary-General of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, Prof Oladapo Ashiru, has said there are no major differences between fresh sperm and frozen sperm used for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).
Prof Ashiru said frozen sperm would not interfere with the fertilisation and clinical pregnancy rates.
He said with intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilisation, one has a better chance of clearing hurdles along the path to pregnancy.
He made this known in a recent interview where Ashiru said studies have also shown no difference between fresh sperm and frozen sperm in ART.
“It was reported by a group from Mayo Clinic Rochester in 2004 that couples using in vitro fertilisation have the same likelihood of successful pregnancy whether the sperm used is frozen or fresh.
“A study from Egypt in 2021 showed that using frozen testicular sperm from men with non-obstructive azoospermia results in fertilisation and clinical pregnancy rates similar to those of fresh sperm. It may encourage fertility centres to use frozen testicular sperm samples, as this policy has certain advantages that would help organise their workflow.
“Another study from New York in over 6,000 couples showed that using fresh compared to frozen ejaculated sperm has no impact on fresh embryo transfer cycle reproductive outcomes.
“In a study conducted using first fresh embryo transfer cycles at a single high-volume academic institution between 2013 and 2019. In our Medical Art Center Clinic, we have observed no significant difference between frozen and fresh samples since 1994,” he said.
The fertility expert said the sperm freeze procedure freezes sperm cells to preserve them for future use.
