(122) HUMAN FACTORS AFFECTING RECOVERY OF SPERM MOTILITY AFTER CRYOPRESERVATION: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract Introduction Although studies have suggested that sperm motility may play a role in predicting the success of assisted reproductive technology, current studies on factors affecting recovery of sperm motility after cryopreservation are largely limited to evaluating cryopreservation techniques. Objective We sought to evaluate human factors that affect the recovery of sperm motility after cryopreservation. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent sperm cryopreservation at our institution from September 2021 through January 2024. We measured pre- and post-thaw motility, and collected demographics, medical and surgical history, and pre-retrieval laboratory values from the electronic medical record. Student’s t-tests were used to compare continuous variables, and Pearson’s chi-squared tests were used for categorical variables. All analyses were conducted in R version 4.4.0, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 184 patients underwent sperm cryopreservation. Among the cohort, the mean age was 30.4 (SD 9.07) with a mean BMI of 25.9 (SD 4.87). The mean sperm motility prior to freezing, after freezing, and percent recovery was 45.5% (SD 22.1), 23.7% (SD 13.8), and 53.9% (SD 24.5), respectively. Of the factors analyzed, increased age was associated with decrease sperm motility percent recovery (p = 0.005). Hormonal evaluation of the cohort showed 57 patients had luteinizing hormone values collected pre-retrieval, which was positively correlated with sperm motility recovery (p = 0.054). Estradiol, testosterone, prolactin, and follicle-stimulating hormone levels also did not significantly correlate with sperm motility recovery. Race, BMI, history of diabetes mellitus, alcohol use, tobacco use, cancer history, radiation or chemotherapy history, history of hypogonadism, or history of prior children did not affect sperm motility recovery. Conclusions Our findings suggest that age is negatively correlated with recovery of sperm motility. These results may help guide physicians counseling patients if additional samples should be submitted for cryopreservation. Disclosure No.