Which treatment should we choose with Klinefelter Syndrome?

Hi there,

Not too many men getting involved in here… Well, nice to meet you all! I did a karyotype analysis a few weeks ago and I’ve been detected the Klinefelter Syndrome, and therefore my azoospermia is non-obstructive (secretory) and we should use donor sperm. I’d like to know which options do we have regarding the treatment we should use (IVF, AI…) and also I want a confirmation that I have a 0 chance of having children using my own sperm, because I’ve read in some webpages that men with KS still have a very small percentage of sperm count.

Thanks,

Thomas

Dear Thomas,

The Klinefelter Syndrome is a chromosomal alteration in which the affected man has more than one X chromosome, that is, XXY. Hormone levels of men with KS are below what is considered as normal. This has an impact on sperm production, leading thus to secretory or non-obstructive azoospermia.

Only individuals with mosaic Klinefelter syndrome (where there are normal cell lines and XXY lines) may have milder signs of sperm production after doing a testicular biopsy. In such case, their sperm could be used in IVF cycles with the ICSI technique.

In cases of zero sperm count, these man have no choice but to use donor sperm. You can choose between artificial insemination (AI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) depending on the characteristics of your female partner. For artificial insemination by donor (AID) to be successful, the woman has to count on a normal ovarian reserve and tubal patency. Otherwise, the recommended treatment is IVF.

Hope this helps