ADDITIONS TO THE
IVF AND GENETIC SCREENING

Sometimes, sperm is unable to penetrate the egg. If this problem applies to you, your doctor may use intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This procedure involves inserting a single sperm directly into the egg.

Performed under local anesthesia, percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) is performed in cases of obstruction of the vas deferens. This is a treatment only performed as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Most often, it involves performing a puncture in the epididymis using a fine needle. However, a small incision in the epididymis is sometimes necessary. Sperm are then collected and the best of them are used for IVF with microinjection.

Performed under local anesthesia, this collection technique is used when there is a complete absence of sperm in the ejaculate or epididymis, but the testicles continue to produce sperm. The problem may be related to previous surgery, an infection or a congenital abnormality. This is a treatment only performed as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) with ICSI, which involves collecting sperm directly from the testicles using a very fine needle.

MicroTESE is the best option for people with non-obstructive azoospermia and insufficient sperm production or maturation.

Performed under general anesthesia, this microsurgery technique involves opening the testicle in order to recover sperm, thus allowing people whose ejaculate does not contain sperm (azoospermia) to have a biological child.

Sometimes, breaks in the genetic material of sperm can interfere with the development of a viable embryo and cause fertility problems. This is called sperm DNA fragmentation.

The Alessio Sperm DNA Fragmentation Test assesses the proportion of sperm that have breaks that cannot be detected during routine tests.