7c Use of immature germ cells for the treatment of male infertility

Both animal experimentation data and preliminary clinical experience converge to suggest that normal progeny can be obtained by fertilizing oocytes with spermatids, the youngest male germ cells to have a set of haploid chromosomes. Spermatids can be obtained from the ejaculate of many patients with non-obstructive azoospermia. The use of ejaculated spermatids in the treatment of non-obstructive azoospermia is thus to be considered as an alternative to that of testicular spermatozoa. Fertilization with ejaculated spermatids makes it possible to avoid the potential adverse consequences of extensive testicular biopsy and may thus become the treatment of first choice. The recourse to testicular spermatids represents a treatment of last chance if no spermatids can be recovered either from the ejaculate and no spermatozoa from the testis.