A follow-up study among 285 men with azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia

The present investigation deals with the answer to a simple questionnaire from 147 men with azoospermia and 138 men with severe oligozoospermia (sperm counts less than 10 million/ml), earlier admitted to our clinic as male partners in barren couples. Twenty men in the azoospermia group and 52 men in the oligozoospermia group had received different types of infertility treatment. The conception rates reported were 1.6% and 10% in the azoospermia group, and 19.8% and 17.3% in the oligozoospermia group for the untreated and treated subgroups respectively. Only 21% of the men were interested in adoption, whereas 61% answered that they were favourably inclined towards performance of heterologous insemination of their wives. No significant increase in the conception rate was observed in the couples who had achieved adoption. The marriages appeared to be remarkably stable, only 3.5% of the men were divorced or separated from their wives. These results emphasize the necessity of including control groups in treatment trials of male infertility and would also suggest that female partners in these couples should be treated more actively.