Non-obstructive azoospermia and using donor sperm

Hey,

yesterday we were given the results of my husband’s seminogram and the diagnosis says “non-obstructive azoospermia”. We are puzzled because he’s just 28 years old… All our dreams have now fallen into pieces, what now? Do we still have any chance of having children of our own? We don’t want our child to have half the genetic material of another man 🙁

This is terrible, help me please.

Dear Suzan and Viktor,

First, I must say, I feel extremely sorry for you. Azoospermia is defined as the absence of sperm (zero sperm count) in the ejaculate. If no spermatozoon is found in the ejaculate, getting pregnant naturally is almost impossible. Thus, non-obstructive or secretory azoospermia is considered to be a severe male fertility problem.

In cases of obstructive azoospermia, there are still chances of obtaining viable sperm, since the cause is that there’s a physical obstruction of the post-testicular genital tracts. This means sperm production works, but due to the obstruction, it is not expelled in the ejaculate. In this case, obtaining viable sperm to perform an ICSI, as I said, is possible.

However, if we are talking about non-obstructive or secretory azoospermia, obtaining viable sperm is very complicated, since the sperm production function of the testicle is damaged. Although there are medical treatments that can favor sperm production, achieving pregnancy is still very difficult. Nonetheless, it depends on how severe it is.

In most severe cases, no single spermatozoon is obtained after performing a testicular biopsy. In such situation, I’m afraid sperm donation is the most recommendable option.

Best wishes