Secrets of Male Fertility

Like many newlyweds,
Gina and Roger wanted to start a family. Both Gina and Roger had brothers and
sisters and nieces and nephews. To raise a family seemed like the most natural
thing in the world. They bought a small house in a nice neighborhood with good
schools. The house had three bedrooms, and if their family outgrew even that
many, there was space in the back yard for an addition.

Three years laterno
children. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Something wasn’t right, so Gina decided
to have tests performed at a fertility clinic. Weren’t most
fertility problems centered around the woman? Men seemed to have a much simpler
task and simpler equipment. What could go wrong with a man, especially a guy like
Roger who had no problem performing?

Weeks later, the
fertility clinic gave Gina a clean bill of health. Now Gina faced a new
challenge: she had to gently tell her husband that the clinic wanted him to
undergo tests. She wasn’t sure how he would react. After all, most men would
not want to admit that they were shooting blanks.

Much to Gina’s relief,
her husband was understanding and even proactive about getting tested.
Together, they learned some secrets of male fertility.

According to the Cornell
Institute for Reproductive Medicine at Cornell University, infertility affects
one in every six couples who are trying to conceive. In at least fifty percent
of all cases of infertility, a major or contributing cause is a male factor.
This means that about ten percent of all men in the United States who are attempting to
conceive have infertility issues. Roger was not alone!

What are the causes of
male infertility?

The most common cause of male infertility is varicocele. This
is a condition of enlarged veins in the scrotum that causes disruption of the
normal temperature regulation of the testis. Normally, enzymes that are
responsible for both hormone (testosterone) and sperm production have an
optimal temperature at which they operate most effectively. If the temperature
is elevated even slightly, sperm and testosterone production are adversely
affected. This condition may be alleviated with microsurgery.

The second major cause
of infertility in men is an obstruction or blockage of the male reproductive
tract. This is often the case for men with zero sperm count, a condition called
“azoospermia.” There are two primary types of azoospermia. Some men
have a production problem, meaning they are not making sperm. This is called “non-obstructive azoospermia.” Others have an obstruction
problem or blockage, meaning they are making sperm, but the sperm can’t get
out.

With microsurgery,
blockage repair rates are very good. For men who appear to have no sperm
production, in nearly half the cases doctors can now find sperm between the
cells of the testicles. In many cases, these sperm can be surgically harvested
and used for in-vitro fertilization.

Approximately one
percent of all infertile men are born with the congenital absence of the vas
deferens. While there are no artificial tubes strong enough to replace the vas
deferens, doctors are now able to help such men conceive using microsurgery to retrieve sperm from the tiny ducts of the epididymis, and use
them for in-vitro fertilization.

Thanks to Roger’s willingness
to set aside his manly pride, with the help of the fertility clinic he and Gina
started their familyand eventually had to build that addition.