Comparative study on efficacy of three sperm-separation techniques

Aim: To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of real-time sperm separatio n technique (Wang's tube method) and other two conventional methods in isol ating high-quality sperm preparation, and to compare the spouse pregnancy r ate in intrauterine insemination (IUI) with sperm preparations isolated by these methods. Methods: The effectiveness of the real-time sperm separation technique, the conventional swim-up and the Percoll discontinuous density gradient methods in isolating sperm preparations from 60 infertile patients (20 with apparently normal semen and 40, abnormal semen contaminated with microorganisms and other impurities) was evaluated and compared. The microo rganisms to be removed included bacteria, virus, Chlamydia trachomaticum, U reaplsama urealyticum, etc. The spouse pregnancy rates in IUI with sperm pr eparations isolated by these three techniques from 80 oligoasthenoteratospe rmic patients were also compared. Results: The quality (including the perce ntages of normal form, normal-chromatin and motile sperm, and the grade of motility) of sperm obtained by the real-time sperm separation technique was much higher (P < 0.01) as compared with those by the other two methods. Th e Wang's tube method was also more effective in removing microorganisms and other impurities. The method provided a higher IUI pregnancy rate than the other two sperm separation techniques (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The real-tim e sperm separation technique is the most effective method so far available in isolating high-quality sperm samples to be used in assisted reproduction .