MACS (Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting) is a special method of sperm selection that allows us to eliminate apoptotic spermatozoa, that is, those that are programmed to die before performing a proper fertilization of the egg, presenting many of them an increase in the fragmentation of their DNA where their genetic material is located. Thanks to this technique we will obtain healthy spermatozoa to be able to generate embryos of good quality and greater potential for implantation and evolutionary pregnancy.
The use of MACS systems is not very complex and does not require much time, which makes it possible to adapt it to the protocols of each laboratory and each patient; in addition, it can be combined with other sperm preparation techniques to achieve flexibility in the procedure and to be able to adapt it to each particular case. In general, in order to be able to carry it out, more than a minimum volume, we are going to need a sufficient concentration of motile spermatozoa and a fluid sample, since filamentous samples can pass through the columns less well.
Remember that what we are going to do is to mark the semen with a reagent, and it is passed through a separation column placed in a magnetic field. Unwanted cells are selectively retained in the column. Live spermatozoa with good motility are not marked by the reagent, so they pass through the column and are collected for later use.
