Anti Sperm Antibody Test

Antisperm antibodies occur when the body becomes sensitised to sperm. This causes an immune system response that destroys the sperm. There are two main types of anti-sperm antibodies that can prevent sperm cells from doing their job they are anti-sperm agglutinating antibodies, and anti-sperm immobilizing Antibodies. When a couple has difficulty getting pregnant due to antisperm antibodies, it is known as immunologic infertility. An antisperm antibody test looks for special proteins (antibodies) that fight against a man's sperm in blood, vaginal fluids, or semen. The higher the level of antibody-affected sperm found in the semen, the lower the chance of the sperm fertilizing an egg.

The patient should talk to the doctor about any concern he/she has regarding the need for the test. The patient will be provided with adequate information pertaining to the tests regarding how a blood sample is taken from a vein in the arm in case the patient is a woman. In case of a male patient, information will be provided pertaining to how a semen sample is collected after the blood and vaginal fluid samples are taken. The male patient must not release his sperm for 2 days before the test, It is important to not go longer than 5 days before the test without ejaculating because it could affect the results of the test.

Anti-Sperm Antibody test is conducted for the following two reasons 1. When another cause of infertility cannot be found. 2. When the results of infertility testing are unclear. Immunobead Antibody test helps detect if antibodies to sperm are present, these beads will attach to the sperm. One hundred motile (swimming) sperm are evaluated for bead attachment. For the male, if twenty or more of these sperm have beads attached to them, this is considered a positive test and indicates that antisperm antibodies may be present. For the female, a result greater than 10% is considered a positive test.

The health professional taking a sample of a woman patient's blood will:
-Wrap an elastic band around your upper arm to stop the flow of blood.
-Clean the needle site with alcohol.
-Put the needle into the vein.
-Attach a tube to the needle to fill it with blood.
-Remove the band from your arm when enough blood is collected.
-Put a gauze pad as the needle is removed.
Semen collection of a male patient will be done as follows:
A semen sample is collected by masturbation.
The patient should urinate and then wash and rinse your hands and penis before collecting the semen in a sterile cup.