Researchers from the Institut de readaptation Gingras-Lindsay-de-Montreal in Quebec wanted to find out just how effective assisted reproductive technology (ART) is for men with spinal cord injury (SCI). SCI causes infertility in a large portion of the affected population due to difficulty ejaculating, failure to ejaculate or problems with semen and sperm quality. The study reported the percentage of men who use ART to combat SCI infertility are able to achieve pregnancy.
Records for 31 couples were pulled for the study. The male partner suffered SCI in all cases and were treated at the Institut. Semen collections were accomplished through various common technologies, including manual stimulation and testicular sperm extraction. ART was the method of choice for pregnancy.
Conclusion: About 65% of the men in the study were able to father children with the use of ART. Some women conceived with in-vitro fertilization and others with intravaginal insemination. No couples conceived using intrauterine insemination. There was an overall pregnancy rate of 43% per fertility cycle that eventually reached 55% overall. With ART, the majority of men with SCI can father children.
Source: Leduc BE. Treatment of infertility in 31 men with spinal cord injury. Can J Urol. 2012 Oct;19(5):6432-6.