IMPROVEMENT IN SPERM QUALITY AND INCREASED PREGNANCY RATE AFTER INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION

NASRIN JALILIAN¹, MITRA BAKHTIYARI², FARAHNAZ KESHAVARZI¹, ANISODOWLEH NANKALI¹, NEGIN REZAVAND¹, FIROOZEH VEISI¹, MARYAM HEMATTI¹,*

¹ Maternity Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran - ² Department of Anatomy.Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah Iran

Background: Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is the first line treatment in couples with male factor sub fertility or unexplained infertility. The objective of this study was to investigate sperm preparation with three methods of sperm gradient procedure (P50), bilayer gradient (P 40-80), and swim-up method for IUI in couples with male factor sub fertility(mild form, 5-15 million sperm per mL) or unexplained infertility.

Methods: A total number of 153 infertile couples underwent 223 therapeutic cycles. There were 103 couples (68%) with unexplained infertility and 50 couples (32%) with mild male factor sub fertility. Sperm parameters including concentration, morphology, motility, and pregnancy rate were determined in each group before and after sperm preparation.

Results: In unexplained infertility group, differences in sperm motility and morphology before and after P 40-80 preparation method were 67.1 (3.8) and 18 (1.1), respectively. This difference was significantly higher compared to the other two methods. The rate of pregnancy was also significantly higher (18%) in P 40-80 group compared to the other groups. In contrast, in mild male factor sub fertility group, no significant difference was observed between the three sperm preparation methods.