Effective fertility treatment

The starting point for an effective fertility treatment is that the focus is on both female and male factors from the beginning.

Many couples experience a course of treatments where the focus largely is on the woman.

Many couples take the SDI®-test after several years of failed fertility treatments. Too often we find that DFI is above 15, and that the problem with sperm DNA fragmentation should have been considered to begin with.

DFIFertilityPer treatment success rate
Below 15NormalNormal success rate for IUI, IVF and ICSI
IUI: approximately 20%
IVF: approximately 30%
ICSI: approximately 30%
15 to 25ReducedSuccess rate reduced for IUI and IVF
IUI: approximately 12%
IVF: approximately 18%
ICSI: approximately 30%
Above 25Strongly reducedSuccess rate reduced for IUI, IVF and ICSI
IUI: approximately 1 to 2%
IVF: approximately 12%
ICSI: approximately 18%

Choose the most optimal fertility treatment.

The level of DFI can guide you to the most effective fertility treatment.

A low DFI implies that the sperm DNA is robust and that is unlikely to become damaged (fragmented) if the sperm has to swim a long way to the egg and fertilize this.

On the other hand, a high DFI means that the sperm DNA is very fragile and that it is ‘a race against the clock’ for the sperm to get into the egg and have any damage to the DNA repaired by the egg. In such cases, ICSI treatment is adviceable (perhaps combined with TESA).

The Table is from the poster SPZ Lab presented at the annual meeting in the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in 2013 (ESHRE 2013).

Get the most out of the SDI® test

When the intercourse dose not result in a successful pregnancy, you should consider to take the SDI® test as early as possible. You can do this test at home before you even visit your doctor or a fertility clinic. It may seem expensive to begin with but in the longer run you may avoid unsuccessful and disappointing treatments and also save money. The test can help you to:

– Determine if DNA fragmentation is a problem for you
– Use the result to choose the most optimal fertility treatment
– Focus on factor which can improve male fertility