How to Extract Male Sperm

There are two procedures that are performed by medical professionals to extract male sperm. They are MESE (microsurgical testicular sperm extraction) and TESE (testicular sperm extraction). These two procedures are just a few of several services offered by urological specialists nationwide to assist couples who otherwise have been unable to initiate a pregnancy on their own. This procedure, normally used to treat men with azoospermia (lower-than-normal sperm production), removes sperm directly from a man's testicles, and then utilizes it to fertilize a waiting egg. This procedure has a relatively high rate of success, as evidenced by a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and often brings a positive end to the painful journey through male infertility.

Things You'll Need

• At least one testicle
• Urologist
• Complete evaluation for azoospermia or other testicular failure
• Complete post-ejaculate urinalysis

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Instructions

• 1

  On the day that the sperm extraction is to be done, a biopsy of testicular tissue is necessary. This is usually accomplished with a small incision on either side of the scrotum and is used to locate where the most active testicular sperm are.

• 2

  If the MESE procedure is being performed, essentially a tubule will be opened through microscopic surgery and the spermatic fluid is collected. This fluid is then taken to a laboratory and assessed for its potency. The most viable sperm are then separated and directly injected into a waiting, mature egg. Typically, the MESE procedure is reserved for men who have gone through a vasectomy or are missing their vas deferens.

• 3

  The TESE procedure will usually be performed for men who have been diagnosed with azoospermia and is similar to the MESE procedure. The only real difference in the two is that with MESE, a biopsy of the epididymal tissue itself is performed using microsurgical equipment. Between the two procedures, it is thought that the MESE procedure has the most potential for success, in that it can find the highest quantity and best quality of sperm available.

• 4

  When enough sperm have been removed from the testicles, it is then appropriately processed and usually taken directly to the IVF (in vitro fertilization) laboratory where it is injected directly into the waiting egg, via a procedure called ICSI, or intracytoclasmic sperm injection.