SpermSelect - Isolating High-Quality Sperm for IVF

SpermSelect is a laboratory technique used in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to isolate high-quality sperm for use in procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

SpermSelect FAQ

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What is natural sperm selection?

Natural sperm selection in humans is a rigorous process resulting in the highest quality sperm reaching, and having an opportunity to fertilize, the oocyte. Relative to other mammalian species, the human ejaculate consists of a heterogeneous pool of sperm, varying in characteristics such as shape, size, and motility.

What are the latest developments in sperm selection?

The latest developments in sperm selection are focused on the sperm surface combined with or without a standard preparation protocol as illustrated in advanced sperm selection section. Both one-step and two-step sperm washing methods involve resuspension of sperm in the culture medium after complete liquefaction.

How do sperm selection techniques work?

The sperm selection techniques that are currently in routine use mostly rely on a brief motility challenge [swim-up] or a forced passage through a differential gradient. This challenge is a far cry from truly mimicking the natural selection characteristics seen in vivo.

How do we select sperm?

Many of the methods of sperm selection currently in development use a single sperm characteristic, such as surface charge or chemotactic response; combining their use with DGC or the swim-up assay enables sperm selection by an additional characteristic.

How is sperm selected?

Clinical procedures for sperm selection typically involve the removal of dead cells and debris via centrifugation (such as density gradient centrifugation) 20, 21, separation of highly motile sperm through sperm washing media (for example, the swim-up assay) 22 or a combination of both 23, 24.

What is sperm selection in the female reproductive tract (FRT)?

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sperm selection in the female reproductive tract (FRT) is sophisticated. Only about 1,000 sperm out of millions in an ejaculate reach the fallopian tube and thus have a chance of fertilizing an oocyte.

Could a sperm molecular signature be used for sperm selection?

Further research could enable a panel of proteins or sperm molecular signature that might reflect sperm quality to be established and potentially be used for sperm selection. Sperm selection based on a sperm molecular signature aims to isolate sperm having distinctive surface molecules.