Male Infertility

Male infertility refers to situations where the reason for a couple's inability to have children is due to the male. The most common causes for male infertility include:

Varicocele

This condition refers to enlarged / twisted vein in the spermatic cord that connects to the testicle. Surgery (varicocelectomy) is most often the treatment.

Sexual dysfunction

Inability for the male to eject enough sperm into the female.

Genetic

The genetic material carried by the sperm may be defective, causing infertility.

Low sperm count

Number of sperm is low. An average male has 80 million sperms per mL. Anything above 20 million sperms per mL is concered normal.

Abnormal sperm morphology

Sperms have a head and a tail. Abnormal sperms will not lead to fertilization even when it comes in contact with the egg. There are two morphology criteria: With the criteria defined by the World Health Organization, normal morphology means 30% of the sperms satisfy the normal morphology conditions; with the more strict Kruger test, normal morphology means 14% of the sperms satisfy the normal morphogoloy conditions.

Autoantibody

This is a condition where body's immune system mistakes sperms as foreign invaders, and the antibodies produced by the body attack the sperm, resulting in the inability for the sperm to fertilize the egg.

Testicles were injured before

As a result, sperm production is affected.

Infections

Certain infections may contribute to infertility.

Other causes are possible as well. Please note that sometimes no reason can be found.