title: The male factor of infertility should not be an issue for the selection of patients for extended embryo culture programmes.
abstract: This study evaluated the influence of sperm origin and basic sperm parameters on blastocyst implantation competence. The study included 2912 embryos obtained from 370 patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles, with embryo transfer on day 5 of development. The embryos were divided into experimental groups according to their origin: (i) embryos originated from ejaculated-derived spermatozoa (Ejaculated group, n = 2093), from epididymal-derived spermatozoa (Epididymal group, n = 463) and from testicular-derived spermatozoa (Testicular group, n = 356). The groups were compared in relation to their blastocyst implantation competence. In addition, the influence of sperm parameters on blastocyst implantation was investigated. The sperm origin was determinant to the success of implantation. When blastocysts originating from testicle-derived spermatozoa were transferred, 66.4% implanted, while only 35.8 and 48.6% of blastocysts originated from epididymis- and ejaculate-derived spermatozoa implanted respectively (p = 0.001). The sperm volume and concentration were increased in cycles in which the implantation rate was 100 compared to the 0% implantation rate cases; however, the sperm motility and morphology did not differ among the groups. These results suggest that, with the exception of sperm volume and concentration, the male factor of infertility should not be an issue for the selection of patients for extended embryo culture programmes, even when azoospermic patients are considered.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Fertilização Assistida, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: D P A F
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Braga
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Setti
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vingris
authors.forename: R C S
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Figueira
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iaconelli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borges
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004542:Ejaculation; D010064:Embryo Implantation / Q000502:physiology*; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000379:methods; D004822:Epididymis / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013076:Sperm Count; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic / Q000379:methods; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology
keywords: azoospermia; intracytoplasmic sperm injection; sperm retrieval