Does a microfluidic chip for sperm sorting have a positive add-on effect on laboratory and clinical outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles? A sibling oocyte study

Abstract

The most recent technologies for sperm sorting involve microfluidics. However, the most important question whether their use is of any advantage in terms of laboratory and clinical IVF/ICSI outcomes still remains controversy. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether a microfluidic sperm sorting device (Fertile Plus (R)) has a positive add-on effect on laboratory and clinical outcomes. Sibling oocytes of 81 patients were assigned to two sperm sorting groups including swim up and Fertile Plus (R). All embryos were cultured until day 5/6. Fertilisation, embryo quality and blastocyst development were assessed as primary outcomes among 81 patients; clinical pregnancy, implantation and live birth rates were analysed as secondary outcomes as a subgroup analysis due to transfer cancellations. No statistically significant differences were found between groups in terms of all outcomes analysed in laboratory and clinical terms (p > .05 for all). The results of this study suggest that sorting spermatozoa through Fertile chip does not improve laboratory outcomes significantly and does not seem to have a positive contribution to clinical outcomes.