EFFECT OF SEMEN CHARACTERISTICS ON PREGNANCY RATE IN A GAMETE INTRAFALLOPIAN TRANSFER PROGRAM

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sperm morpholog y, swim-up concentration, and insemination volume on pregnancy outcome in patients undergoing gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) treatmen t in whom the male partner had a morphology of less than 14%. Only pat ients who received four oocytes were entered into this study (n = 103) . In all cases the swim-up procedure time was standardized to 1 h and the insemination concentration was standardized to 500,000 per oviduct . There was no significant difference in pregnancy rate when normal mo rphology, swim-up concentration, or insemination volume were used as p redictors. In the P pattern group (<4% normal forms) only four of the 28 (14%) patients had ongoing pregnancies, whereas in the G pattern gr oup (5% to 14% normal forms) 16 out of 75 (21%) had ongoing pregnancie s (P vs G, p > 0.05; not significant). The fertilization rate among ex cess oocytes in the P pattern group was 18% but was 39% (p <.0001) in the G pattern group. When an attempt was made to compensate for low mo rphology by increasing insemination concentration no significant diffe rence in the pregnancy rate between the P and G pattern groups in the GIFT program was recorded. This was not the case when the in vitro fer tilization rate was used as an endpoint. Insemination volume and swim- up concentration played no role in pregnancy rate.