News | Study finds no difference in pregnancy rates between frozen and fresh sperm
Couples undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) can be reassured: frozen sperm performs no worse than fresh sperm. The largest study of its kind found no significant difference in pregnancy rates between IUI cycles using frozen and fresh sperm.
Led by Dr. Panagiotis Cherouveim of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the study was presented today at the 38th ESHRE annual meeting. It analyzed 5,335 IUI cycles performed at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2004 to 2021.
“Patients undergoing IUI should be clearly informed that frozen sperm is not inferior to fresh sperm,” Dr. Cherouveim said.
Cryopreservation is now the standard method of sperm storage worldwide, particularly for donor sperm. Some jurisdictions legally require it so samples can undergo infection screening before use. This quarantine period is usually six months and may be longer for men banking their own sperm. Despite widespread use, patients still worry that freezing may affect sperm motility, structure, or DNA integrity.
“Although freezing is common, data on its outcomes in IUI cycles remain very limited,” Dr. Cherouveim noted.
The study compared fresh- and frozen-sperm IUI cycles across key outcomes, including positive hCG tests, clinical pregnancy, and miscarriage, while grouping patients by use of ovulation-induction drugs such as clomiphene or letrozole.
After adjustment for confounding factors, clinical pregnancy rates did not differ significantly. A small difference seen among patients taking oral ovulation-induction drugs disappeared when analysis was limited to first treatment cycles. The only slight difference was a longer **time to pregnancy** with frozen sperm.
“Although some small groups may benefit slightly from fresh sperm, and fresh samples may shorten time to pregnancy, frozen sperm had no overall adverse effect on IUI outcomes,” Dr. Cherouveim concluded.
For many single women and same-sex couples, one IUI cycle may be their only opportunity to conceive that month, making the reliability of frozen sperm especially important.
Most frozen sperm in the study came from anonymous donors, as is common in reproductive medicine. Donors are generally young and healthy with favorable semen parameters, but patients still ask whether a sample contains a full ejaculate and how long it was frozen.
“This study provides strong data that can ease those concerns,” Dr. Cherouveim said.
He added that mandatory freezing and screening of donor sperm is a public-health measure consistent with medical safety principles. “The protection these processes provide far outweighs any minor disadvantage,” he said, noting their importance to both recipients and future children.
News | Study finds no difference in pregnancy rates between frozen and fresh sperm
News | Study finds no difference in pregnancy rates between frozen and fresh sperm
Couples undergoing intrauterine insemination (IUI) can be reassured: frozen sperm performs no worse than fresh sperm. The largest study of its kind found no significant difference in pregnancy rates between IUI cycles using frozen and fresh sperm.
Led by Dr. Panagiotis Cherouveim of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the study was presented today at the 38th ESHRE annual meeting. It analyzed 5,335 IUI cycles performed at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2004 to 2021.
“Patients undergoing IUI should be clearly informed that frozen sperm is not inferior to fresh sperm,” Dr. Cherouveim said.
Cryopreservation is now the standard method of sperm storage worldwide, particularly for donor sperm. Some jurisdictions legally require it so samples can undergo infection screening before use. This quarantine period is usually six months and may be longer for men banking their own sperm. Despite widespread use, patients still worry that freezing may affect sperm motility, structure, or DNA integrity.
“Although freezing is common, data on its outcomes in IUI cycles remain very limited,” Dr. Cherouveim noted.
The study compared fresh- and frozen-sperm IUI cycles across key outcomes, including positive hCG tests, clinical pregnancy, and miscarriage, while grouping patients by use of ovulation-induction drugs such as clomiphene or letrozole.
After adjustment for confounding factors, clinical pregnancy rates did not differ significantly. A small difference seen among patients taking oral ovulation-induction drugs disappeared when analysis was limited to first treatment cycles. The only slight difference was a longer **time to pregnancy** with frozen sperm.
“Although some small groups may benefit slightly from fresh sperm, and fresh samples may shorten time to pregnancy, frozen sperm had no overall adverse effect on IUI outcomes,” Dr. Cherouveim concluded.
For many single women and same-sex couples, one IUI cycle may be their only opportunity to conceive that month, making the reliability of frozen sperm especially important.
Most frozen sperm in the study came from anonymous donors, as is common in reproductive medicine. Donors are generally young and healthy with favorable semen parameters, but patients still ask whether a sample contains a full ejaculate and how long it was frozen.
“This study provides strong data that can ease those concerns,” Dr. Cherouveim said.
He added that mandatory freezing and screening of donor sperm is a public-health measure consistent with medical safety principles. “The protection these processes provide far outweighs any minor disadvantage,” he said, noting their importance to both recipients and future children.
Source:
Collected online