Male Fertility

  • Semen Analysis. This test determines your semen volume as well as the quantity and quality of sperm present in the ejaculate. A drop of freshly ejaculated semen is placed in a special counting chamber and observed under a high-powered microscope. This determines whether or not there are abnormal sperm forms, and if so, the amount and type. Most abnormally shaped sperm do not have the ability to fertilize the egg. 
  • Immunobead Testing. This testing determines whether or not you have antibodies present in your body which are hostile to sperm. This can be thought of like an allergic reaction to sperm. These antisperm antibodies may be present in the man and/or woman.
  • Male Endocrinology. his blood test seeks the steroid hormones produced in a man's body that affect sperm production and hence his reproduction and fertility status. 
  • Epididymal Aspiration/Testis Biopsy. In this procedure , an incision is made in your scrotum. The doctor will remove fluid from the epididymis, the elongated, coiled duct that provides for the maturation, storage, and passage of sperm from the testes. This fluid is evaluated under a microscope in the operating room for the presence of sperm by the embryologist. Testicular sperm extraction (TESE), or the removal of a small amount of testicular tissue, is used to retrieve sperm from men with impaired sperm production, or when epididymal aspiration fails.
  • Male Fertility Preservation. Semen cryopreservation accommodates male cancer patients of childbearing age who are newly diagnosed with cancer. It serves as a safeguard against the potential of sterility associated with chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment.

While it is advantageous for patients to bank all semen specimens prior to beginning therapies that can result in sterility, recent studies have shown that viable samples can be collected in the early stages of some treatments.

Other men who would benefit from preservation are those undergoing vasectomy.

Once the samples are collected, evaluated and frozen through cryopreservation, they will be transferred to Fairfax Cryobank for long-term storage. Fairfax Cryobank has established national networks in the United States and Canada of well-respected infertility centers to collect and freeze cancer patients' semen samples prior to commencement of cancer treatment and chemotherapies. Fairfax Cryobank, a division of Genetics & IVF Institute, has long-term storage facilities in both Philadelphia, Pa. and Fairfax, Va.