male fertility tests

[Et88]

hi Lovelies,

I am totally confused with the spectrum of male fertility tests that exists 😕

Could any one of you help me with a more practical explanation of which test is needed when?

Doctors so far are either saying all tests test needed or saying up to you

Specifically confused in these 2 sets

1. Kyrotype and KIR - what’s the difference , are both needed?

2. FISH and TUNNEL are both needed? How is it different from DNA fragmentation test ( or one of these is the same)

thank you in advance

[soccerkt6]

Hi lovely,

TUNEL is a type of DNA fragmentation test. There are three main methods for testing DNA fragmentation - TUNEL, Comet and SCSA. I don't think one is necessarily better than another, it just depends on what method that lab doing the testing uses.

Karyotyping (which should be done on both partners) looks for chromosomal abnormalities in your genome.

FISH looks for chromosomal abnormalities in the sperm. This is a more niche test and probably not one I would do unless some of the other tests (like karyotyping) show up abnormal results.

KIR is another specialised test that basically looks at you and your partner's DNA to determine if the embryos that you create together would have trouble implanting in your uterus. (Some combinations of male and female genes are more predisposed to infertility.)

If it were me, I'd start with the TUNEL and karyotyping tests. If nothing abnormal shows up there, then you could move on to the more specialised KIR and FISH tests.

Do you already have a diagnosis of male infertility and are trying to figure out the cause, or are you just being thorough with your testing? xx