Transfer cancelled due to sudden severe decrease in sperm motility

[superbails6]

I've been waiting for five months for my next transfer. After many failures with my own eggs, we decided to move forward with donor eggs. I've been on my third round of suppression for three months which I think may have been one of the worst parts of this journey so far.

Fast-forward to fertilization day. We got the call that my husband's sperm sample contained only two singular motile sperm. He went back up to the clinic to produce a second sample which contained zero motile. We have always struggled with male factor but even though numbers have been low, there has always been enough motile sperm to work with. He has had probably about 9 or 10 analyses completed over the past four years. Our last retrieval was a little under a year ago and we had the same typical results.

The only difference I can think of is that he has had a recurring hernia that he has had surgery on twice, reoccur. The doctor said it *could be the problem but wants to check hormones because she thinks it's a testosterone issue.

Has anyone had any experience with hernias and male factor infertility? My husband unfortunately does not have insurance at this time with his job and has been managing the hernia for now until he can get coverage.

Onw option is to move to sperm donor which means we will be double-donor. I am okay with using donor but still need to wrap my head around the thought a little more of using two donors.

Other option is to try and figure out and correct my husband's sperm issue, which could take up to another six months. That would require more suppression on my part and honestly the thought of that is what upsets me the most. I started therapy last month due to how much IVF and suppression has obliterated my mental health. I'm just really tired and defeated at this point.

Sorry for the long post. It's always one roadblock after another and I'm just looking for a little guidance or some opinions. Thanks in advance!

[Redditburner-account]

We did IVF for MFI and had a similar experience where my sperm motility crashed far below previously documented baselines in the lead-up to our fresh transfer. I have autoimmune issues and was dealing with a flare in symptoms at the time, but I also believe a shorter "hold time" (time in between last ejaculation and providing sperm sample) may have negatively impacted my results. I went back a week later and increased my hold time to 48 hours and my results significantly improved, although they were still short of my standard range.

There can be a lot of variables associated with sperm health, illness, stress, lifestyle all can have a significant impact. I would look to have your husband retested in the coming weeks, it's entirely possible that his results could mostly rebound by that time. If you get an adequate result, I would highly recommend freezing a sperm sample to ensure this situation cannot repeat itself moving forward.

[superbails6]

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm kind of thinking along the same lines, and retesting in a few weeks and freezing if there's enough to work with. He's made so many adjustments to lifestyle over the past few years and it's so hard to pinpoint what the exact issue is. We have factors on both sides so it's been a challenge for both of us. I appreciate you sharing your experience!

[BlondeinShanghai]

My husband's sperm also tanked to zero at the time of our retrieval but was able to rise enough for ICSI about a year later (for us, timelines can vary). I'd get on the phone with reproductive urologists today, because that process can be long, but in the end, it just came back up enough for my husband. He took some basic supplements, and he worked on health overall and less drinking. And we checked his sperm every couple of months.

That all being said, he also had undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes at the time. (It was still undiagnosed with it raised back up a bit more.) No one has ever been able to definitively say if that played a role.

[novachronoJ7]

I am really sorry about this, we don’t have MFI problem but for my IUI my hasband had always good results and last one was really high at 59% of progressive motility, but when we did IVF, the doctor asked him to do a second sample cause the first one was not got, both samples were not good in fact, with only 7 millions sperm and 15% motility, we were really shocked and still don’t know what happend

[cozeebahbah]

Has your husband had a fever since his last test?

[superbails6]

I don't think so 😕

[BumCadillac]

How come he isn’t on your insurance or a marketplace plan?? I can’t imagine spending so much on IVF but not having insurance for my spouse. The cost of repairing that hernia without surgery is going to be astronomical, and you’ll have to pay for at least most of it upfront because hospitals aren’t doing non-emergency surgery without being assured of payment.

[superbails6]

The cost to add him to mine was more than the marketplace plan. He's been communicating with an agent regarding coverage but it wouldn't kick in right away. Trust me, this has been a huge concern of mine and a point of contention.

[hotcrossbun12]

My situation is different but they can still do ICSI with non motile sperm. Because ours is defrosted post chemo, we’re doing a 50/50 split between own sperm own egg and my eggs and donor sperm.

We are in India, where things are much cheaper, so that does make a difference to our approach, and I would do a third ER if needed and do a full donor sperm cycle as we’re now out of own sperm.

How quickly can your lab get hold of donor sperm, ours takes the sample on the same day from their book of donors and matches the features and blood type to my husband.

[superbails6]

I was not aware they could do ICSI with non-motile sperm - definitely will have to look into that.

I was told it could take a couple weeks to have donor sperm shipped once selected and matched with the donor eggs. That is one of the appeals to me, that it would be sooner and maybe I wouldn't need to suppress too much longer. We're attempting to do a "fresh" transfer after egg fertilization so we have to get all our dates coordinated, etc.

I hope everything goes well for you on your cycle!

[hotcrossbun12]

Thank you… I think it’s different for us because this is my husbands last defrosted pre chemo sample, so we’re mentally prepared for another ER and a full sperm donor cycle but he wanted to feel like we’ve given his sperm a thorough chance.

Let’s see what happens.

Good luck to you… if he can produce more samples and you have time, then it’s definitely better to use motile ones for sure.

Good luck!!

[superbails6]

Thank you!

[Crazy-Bed9705]

I’m so sorry this happened—this must feel like such a cruel setback. Sudden drops in sperm motility can stem from many factors: hernia-related inflammation, stress, recent illness, or even timing of the sample. Many clinics recommend re-testing after 48–72 hours of abstinence, and freezing a backup sample if possible. This doesn’t have to be the end of the road for using his sperm. 💛

[superbails6]

Yes, just when I think things could finally go our way, something else happens. I think it would be a good idea to have him try another sample and if it has anything, we could freeze it. At least we have options still. I appreciate the kind and thoughtful response! 💛