Fertility in Men with SCI

Male fertility after SCI is affected by erectile dysfunction, by anejaculation (i.e., the inability to eject semen from the penis), as well as by retrograde ejaculation, or ‘dry orgasm’ (i.e., where semen enters the bladder instead of leaving the penis). Many men with SCI require medical assistance to obtain sperm for the purposes of fertility. This sperm is then used for intravaginal or intrauterine insemination or in more invasive assisted reproductive technology (ART) interventions like in vitro fertilization with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) – a specialized form of IVF where a single, healthy sperm is injected directly into a mature egg, bypassing male fertility issues.

Although most of the male fertility studies describe issues of retrieval, sperm quality, reproductive technology, pregnancy, and live births within a single study, the tabled studies have been sorted into the topics of sperm retrieval, sperm quality. and insemination, although overlap does occur.