Immunological Investigations
Routine blood test Antibodies against sperm cells |
Routine blood test [blood test | lab] During your initial consultation at the CRG, and in every fertility treatment case, a blood sample will be taken. Tests will not only be performed to obtain information regarding hormones, but also to detect any infections which might be present. The same applies if you wish to become a sperm donor.
Tests will be performed to detect the presence of antibodies against HIV, hepatitis B & C and syphilis. The presence of antibodies in the blood indicates that that person is or has at some time been infected with the disease in question, or that they have been vaccinated against it.
By certain indications, it is possible to determine whether or not you are infected with gonorrhea, chlamydia, or other sexually transmitted diseases (STD's). Above all chlamydia is a risk as this is the most frequently occurring STD in the Benelux countries, amongst men and women between the ages of 15 & 35. Women do not always realize that they are infected. Men usually do as their symptoms are more severe and appear one two three weeks after exposure. They consist of moderate to severe pain during urination and discharge from the penis.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea are easy to treat with antibiotics, provided that they are diagnosed on time. If you were to infect your partner and she isn't treated, it could have serious consequences for her fertility.
Antibodies against sperm
It is possible for a man to produce antibodies in his body against his own sperm. The following two tests can establish whether that is the case; Sometimes it is necessary to perform both tests in order to obtain conclusive results.
mar-test
(Mixed Anti-globulin Reaction test)
[sperm sample, lab andrology]
This test is performed if there are sufficient motile sperm in the sample, to detect the presence of antibodies, which would cause the sperm to adhere to one another and render them immotile. The other test, the TAT-test is performed using a blood sample and is less precise.
TAT-test (Tray-Agglutinationtest) [blood test | lab andrology]Like the MAR-Test, this is performed in order to detect the presence of antibodies against sperm, but this time in the blood. The same test is also performed on women (click
here to read about this).
The test is performed as standard if the man requests a
reversal of vasectomy operation. This procedure has only a 50% chance of success in restoring fertility, even if it is physically successful. This is because the body becomes aware of the fact that sperm cells, which continue to be produced even after vasectomy, are not going anywhere. In an attempt to dispose of them, antibodies can be produced against them.
The TAT-test is not flawless and does not provide 100% accurate results regarding the presence of antibodies. It regularly produces false positives: in almost 30% of cases the man appears to be fertile again following a vasectomy reversal, even when the TAT-test suggests otherwise. Therefore results are double checked by performing a MAR-test additionally, which is a more accurate procedure.
However a first screening usually involves a TAT-test, because it produces few false negatives.
Postcoital test & SCMC-test
Sometimes, it is the woman which produces antibodies against sperm. Explanations that can be performed in order to establish this can be found in the section
'Immunological investigations for women'.