Together with basic semen analysis that includes sperm count, concentration, motility, vitality, and morphology, sperm DNA fragmentation assay tells us about sperm DNA integrity.

Sperm DNA integrity is one of the indicators of men’s fertilization potential. Sperm DNA damage can occur in the testis (due to improper sperm maturation and spermatogenesis), or post-testicular (infection, varicocele, oxidative stress).

Sperm DNA integrity can also be affected by lifestyle habits such as smoking, unhealthy diet, tight clothes, occupational exposure to toxins or high temperatures, medications for chronic inflammation, and chemo or radiotherapy.

As an additional sperm quality assay, a DNA fragmentation test is recommended for couples:

• who had spontaneous abortions
• with idiopathic infertility
• with irregular embryo morphology in previous IVF cycles
• with more than three unsuccessful IVF procedures
• when the male partner is more than 40 years old
• when the male partner is exposed to risk factors that affect sperm DNA quality

Results can help clinicians guide patients to the best treatment.