What is sperm DNA fragmentation testing?

A simple semen analysis, although sufficient in many cases, only tells us about the count, morphology, and motility of the sperm, but gives no information about its genetic defects, which are often the cause of recurrent miscarriages.

Sperm DNA fragmentation testing is done to check the integrity of the genetic material of your sperm.

Infact, nearly 15% of males with normal semen analysis results actually are infertile, according to a report published in the Translational Andrology and Urology Journal.

What is normal sperm DNA fragmentation?

Any sperm cell will have some degree of DNA fragmentation, but the ones that have more than 30% damage are considered less suitable for good reproductive outcomes.

What does sperm DNA testing check for?

Men with a higher concentration of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) are likely to have fertility problems. Since faulty sperm causes imperfect embryogenesis, the conception will either not take place, or if it does, may result in a miscarriage.

An analysis of 16 studies that used different methods of testing the sperm DNA, found that there was a significant increase in miscarriage and pregnancy loss in patients with high percentage of SDF as compared with those with low DNA damage.

This exhaustive study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, concluded “miscarriage rates are positively correlated with sperm DNA damage levels.”