Improving the man’s fertility
It takes approximately 74 days to produce new sperm. A man’s fertility can be improved quite quickly if the factors that are negatively affecting sperm production are corrected.
More robust DNA
In the final 2-3 weeks of the production of a sperm cell, some very significant changes occur, which can have a decisive impact on the man’s fertility (Marchetti and Wyrobek 2008).
The sperm’s DNA is packed very tightly together, and the ability to repair damage to the DNA is lost. For this process to go well, there must be a good balance between DNA damage and repair in all the body’s cells. Our lifestyle affects these factors, but many other factors also have an influence.
Questionnaire and guidance
At the beginning of the 2000s, the understanding was that DFI could not be changed. Several researchers said that DFI was almost like a ‘fingerprint’. Therefore, if you examined a man’s DFI again, you would get the same result.
So, we were very surprised when, in 2008, we examined a German man again and found that his DFI had dropped from 47 to 22 in just 6 weeks.
The German fertility clinic said that, after the first test, the man had stopped smoking 30 cigarettes a day!
This story is the reason why SPZ Lab started using a questionnaire to gather information about the men who had a DFI above 15. The aim was to be able to explain why they had decreased fertility. Since 2012, we have been giving men personal advice about how they can improve their fertility. Our cooperation with two Irish fertility clinics was announced at the European Fertility Meeting in 2017.
Naturally pregnant
If you have been undergoing treatment for a long time, it can be difficult to understand that the man’s fertility can be so decisive for your chances of becoming pregnant.
We cannot, of course, guarantee that the DFI will improve, but our data shows that 2 out of 3 men achieve a reduction in their DFI of more than 5 percentage points. About 10-15 percent of the couples we help actually become pregnant naturally once the DFI has been improved.
For example, you can read about Søren and Mirah, who had been trying for 6 years before they realized that the DFI was the problem.
Follow-up SDI®-test
If you do not become pregnant naturally, taking a new SDI®-test after 3 months can determine by how much the DFI has improved. If, for example, it has been improved from 27 to 22, then your chances of becoming pregnant with ICSI treatment have improved significantly.
For many couples, both the man and the woman face challenges, so there is a good explanation as to why pregnancy has not occurred spontaneously. But, if the woman has PCOS or endometriosis, for example, then it is particularly important that the man’s fertility is at its peak. Improving the DFI may be the extra push you need.
Sperm quality
The classical methods for examination of semen quality are not particularly precise. This is one of the reasons why counting the number of sperm cells or assessing their motility are not very accurate for detecting any improvements in the man’s sperm production.
The number of stem cells in a man’s testicles is already established in the fetus. The mother’s influence on the fetus during pregnancy is usually the reason why the man has reduced sperm quality later in life. If this is the case, it may be difficult for him to significantly improve the DFI.