Pregnancy outcome and neonatal data of children born after intracytoplasmic sperm injection with a different duration of cryopreservation of spermatozoa obtained through testicular sperm extraction.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of the duration of cryopreservation of testicular sperm on clinical and neonatal outcomes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for patients experiencing azoospermia.


METHODS
This study included 132 azoospermic men who participated in 212 ICSI cycles. The participating men underwent testicular biopsy for the cryopreservation of tissue to be used for subsequent ICSI cycles. The duration of the storage of testicular sperm was determined by the time of oocyte retrieval. Fertilization, embryo development in vitro, pregnancy rates, and neonatal outcomes were assessed.


RESULTS
Although the mean percentage of viability decreased from 73.2% prior to freezing to 50.2% after thawing, viable spermatozoa were visualized subsequent to thawing of the tissue samples for all patients. The potential for fertilization and subsequent embryonic development was not influenced by the duration of sperm cryopreservation up to 2 years longer. The pregnancy outcomes also varied independently of the duration of sperm cryopreservation. The duration of storage did not appear to affect the neonatal outcomes adversely, including the Apgar score and intensive care unit admission rates, although neonatal outcomes were influenced by advanced maternal age. It also has no obvious impact on the major and minor congenital malformation rate of the newborns.


CONCLUSIONS
ICSI outcomes, pregnancy outcome, neonatal outcome, and congenital malformation rate appear not to be affected by the duration of the period of cryostorage. An earlier start of the ICSI cycle following the testicular sperm cryopreservation is preferable because longer preservation is associated with more advanced maternal age.
Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Yi-Ru
YR
Tsai
Kuo-Chung
KC
Lan
Ching-Chang
CC
Tsai
Pin-Yao
PY
Lin
Fu-Tsai
FT
Kung
Yen-Chih
YC
Liu
Fu-Jen
FJ
Huang
D000328:Adult; D001034:Apgar Score; D001724:Birth Weight; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000209:etiology; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000628:therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000009:adverse effects; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D053625:Sperm Retrieval; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*
azoospermia; cryopreserved testicular sperm; intracytoplasmic sperm injection