THE HEMIZONA ASSAY - A SIMPLIFIED TECHNIQUE

The hemizona assay is an important diagnostic tool in assessing human sperm fertilizing potential. Previous hemizona assay results have prov en that this functional test is a good predictor of fertilization in v itro and can be used in clinical practice to supply additional informa tion in male factor subfertility cases. The objective of this study wa s to compare two methods for cutting human zona pellucida into equal h alves (manual handcutting versus micromanipulation) in order to examin e the necessity of an expensive micromanipulator in performing this as say. Comparable results for recovery rate, diameter size of the hemizo nae, and sperm binding were achieved with both methods. According to t hese results, the use of an expensive micromanipulator is not essentia l in performing the hemizona assay.