Chromosperm and FISH
Amongst all the techniques and diagnostic tests Clinica Tambre offers its patients for cases where the origin is the male factor, we can find Chromosperm and FISH.
These tests allow embryologists from the Andrology Laboratory to evaluate the global chromosome content of the sperm cells in a semen sample. This is a fast and effective way of detecting the overall genetic load that could affect the success rate of an assisted reproduction treatment.
To understand the usefulness of this test, it is necessary to understand another concept: the karyotype.
What is the karyotype?
The karyotype is the set of chromosomes a person possesses. When carried out as a laboratory test, the image of these chromosomes is reproduced as we can see in the following picture.
What are Chromosperm and FISH used for?
In the previous image, a normal karyotype can be observed, where the paired structures are the chromosomes we mentioned in the previous paragraph. Normal sperm should contain half the number of chromosomes that are present in a normal cell. If a high percentage of spermatozoa in the ejaculate have more or fewer chromosomes than they should, this could translate into altered results from In Vitro Fertilisation treatment.
Therefore, analyses or techniques such as Chromosperm and FISH could shed some light on the genetic state of the ejaculate, taking into account that Chromosperm evaluates a general chromosomal profile while FISH analyses 5 pairs of specific chromosomes (those most related to failures in assisted reproduction treatments).
It should be noted that an ejaculate with a high percentage of chromosomally altered sperm cells could result in a greater number of aneuploid embryos, i.e. those with some chromosomal abnormality.
