The outcome of fertility treatments using donor sperm is dependent on the quality of sperm

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-Jun-2014

Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Munich, 30 June 2014: Despite emerging evidence of a decline in sperm quality with increasing age, an analysis of every first fertility treatment cycle performed in the UK using sperm donation shows that outcome in terms of live birth is not affected by the age of the sperm donor. Results from the study, said its principal investigator Dr Meenakshi Choudhary, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, reaffirm the observation that a couple's fertility appears significantly more dependent on the age of the female partner than on that of the male.

The results of the study are reported this week at the Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Munich by Dr Choudhary's colleague, Commonwealth Clinical Fellow Dr Navdeep Ghuman.

Their conclusions were derived from an analysis of all UK treatment cycles with sperm donation registered by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) between 1991 and 2012. From a total of more than 230,000 sperm donation cycles, 39,282 were from a first cycle of treatment (with either IVF or donor insemination) and were included in the analysis (a first cycle would avoid any bias from previous attempts). The authors note that it is the first study to conduct an analysis of the effect of sperm donor age on live birth using a large national database.

With the assumption that female fertility clearly declines with age, the study divided its female subjects into two groups: those who were treated with donor sperm between the ages of 18 and 34, and those who were treated after the age of 37. They were further sub-divided according to treatment - donor insemination or IVF. The sperm donors were then divided into six age groups for the analysis (under 20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-45).

As expected, results showed a difference according to female age, both in the IVF and the donor insemination treatments. Thus, live birth rate from IVF with donated sperm was around 29% in the 18-34 age group, but only around 14% in the over-37 age group.

However, within these same two female age bands, no significant differences were found in live birth rate (LBR) relative to the age of sperm donor. Thus:

The women in the 18-34 age group were defined as at the peak of their reproductive potential. Less likely to conceive were women in the age group over 37, and here some differences in outcome were observed, though not of statistical significance. There was a trend, for example, that sperm donors under the age of 20 were associated with a less successful outcome than older donors. Thus:

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The outcome of fertility treatments using donor sperm is dependent on the quality of sperm