Is pre-freeze sperm preparation more advantageous than post-freeze?

Abstract

Human sperm cryopreservation is characterised to this day by sub-optimal success rates. Interestingly, a traditional approach to improving post-thaw outcome has been to integrate standard sperm preparation techniques into freezing protocols as a means of selecting sperm with the highest fertilisation potential prior to insemination. However, no consensus has been reached yet regarding the optimal timing (before or after freezing) of this selection step. Following analysis of a total of 20 human semen samples, which were divided into two aliquots prepared by density gradient centrifugation either before or after freezing, this study demonstrated higher post-thaw total (P < 0.0001), progressively motile (P = 0.005) and vital (P < 0.0001) sperm counts for frozen-prepared semen samples. The present study suggests that direct insemination with frozen-prepared sperm with minimal intervening post-thaw processing might be a more advantageous approach to current clinical practices, particularly for donor and patient intrauterine insemination programmes. Further research into cryopreservation-induced coiled sperm tail morphology is also warranted. Lay summary Freezing and storing of sperm in liquid nitrogen (’sperm cryopreservation') is the current method of choice for preserving the fertility of a wide scope of men. Nevertheless, sub-optimal sperm survival is still associated with traditional cryopreservation methods, namely 'slow freezing', and may affect fertility treatment success rates. Interestingly, a widely applied approach for selecting high-quality sperm before treatment has been to incorporate 'sperm preparation' techniques, such as density gradient centrifugation, in slow freezing protocols. There is, however, an ongoing debate regarding which is the optimal timing of this selection step: before or after freezing. In this study, we collected 20 human semen samples which were divided into two portions and subjected to density gradient centrifugation either before or after freezing. Post-thaw semen analyses demonstrated significantly improved sperm counts (P < 0.05) when density gradient centrifugation was performed before freezing, thus suggesting this approach to be more advantageous for current clinical practices.