Beyond the egg: sperm source does not impact cumulative live birth rates in autologous oocyte cryopreservation patients when adjusted for oocyte age

To assess the impact of sperm source on cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) after oocyte thaw in autologous oocyte cryopreservation (AOC) patients.

A retrospective cohort study of autologous oocyte thaw patients at an urban academic fertility center from 2006 to 2021. Patients were stratified by sperm source [partner sperm (PS) vs. donor sperm (DS)]. The primary outcome was CLBR per patient. Secondary outcomes were the oocyte survival rate and usable embryo rate. Statistics included Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, Fisher’s exact, chi-square, two-sample t-tests, and multiple logistic regression (p < 0.05).

A total of 653 patients were included; 455 (69.7%) used PS and 198 (30.3%) used DS. Time from the first AOC to the first thaw did not differ among DS and PS users (56.8 vs. 54.0 months, p = 0.20). PS users were younger at AOC (37.9 vs. 38.5 years, p < 0.001) and thaw (42.3 vs. 43.1 years, p < 0.001). There were equivalent overall CLBRs (39.9% PS vs. 40.6% DS, p = 0.85) and CLBRs in patients < 35 years at AOC (51.2% PS vs. 100% DS, p = 0.18), 35–37 years at AOC (45.9% PS vs. 60.4% DS, p = 0.10), 38–40 years at AOC (35.4% PS vs. 35.2% DS, p = 0.93), 41–42 years at AOC (28.9% PS vs 14.3% DS, p = 0.21), and > 43 years at AOC (12.5% PS vs 16.7% DS, p = 0.83) among PS and DS users. There were no significant differences in the oocyte survival (79% PS vs 80.5% DS, p = 0.08) or the proportion of patients with usable embryos (27.3% vs 27.8%, p = 0.70) between PS and DS groups.

In AOC patients, CLBR, oocyte survival rate, and usable embryo rate did not differ based on sperm source.