Fertility Preservation Services at UVA

The Men’s Reproductive Health practice at UVA Urology specializes in a number of treatments dealing with infertility:  Varicocele Correction, TURED (transurethral resection of the ejaculatory ducts), Vasectomy Reversal, Testicular Biopsy & Mapping, Electroejaculation, and Sperm Retrieval. For more details, click HERE to access our general UVA Urology Infertility Page.

A variety of sperm retrieval procedures may be utilized to assist in sperm banking (cryopreservation) or ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology), for men who do not have sperm present in the ejaculate.  This may include microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) or microdissection testicular sperm extraction (microTESE). During a MESA, sperm is extracted from a tube within the epididymis and the sperm used for ART. In some cases, enough sperm may be found for multiple cycles of ART and the remainder frozen (cryopreserved).  MicroTESE is most commonly used in men who have no sperm in their semen but may have sperm present within the testicle which can be utilized for ART. Both procedures are performed with an operative microscope on an outpatient basis and may be timed with your partner’s IVF cycle.

Assisted reproductive technologies involve the manipulation of human sperm, eggs and embryos to help with conception. The eggs and sperm can be from you and your partner or may be donated.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

IUI is the process in which semen is collected and processed within the fertility lab and then is inserted directly into the woman’s uterus.  This bypasses the normal anatomic barrier of the cervix and may be helpful inn some men with low sperm counts and decreased sperm motility, quality or function.

In vitro Fertilization (IVF)

IVF involves fertilization of an egg, outside the body and in the laboratory. An IVF cycle involves stimulation of the ovary to produce multiple mature eggs which are then mixed (incubated) with sperm in a laboratory.  The embryos are then evaluated and selected for placement into the uterus.

In vitro Fertilization w/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (IVF w/ICSI)

This is an advanced technique in which a single sperm is injected into a mature egg cell which has been retrieved through the process of IVF described above. This allows for fewer numbers of sperm to be required for a cycle of IVF.