Male Factor Infertility Diagnoses, But Not Male Age, Significantly Affects the Yield of Usable Embryos in Donor Oocyte Cycles

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of male age and male factor infertility on embryo suitability for transfer in IVF cycles in which female factor is controlled. DESIGN: The national SART Clinic Outcome Reporting System (SART CORS) cycle data was used to evaluate the impact of male age and male factor infertility diagnosis on embryo suitability for transfer in cycles using non-identified donor oocytes. Male age was primarily analyzed as a categorical variable (<30, 30-39, 40-49, and ≥ 50 years). SUBJECTS: All IVF cycles using non-identified donor oocytes with preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) between 2017-2022 were included. INTERVENTION (FOR RCT) OR EXPOSURE (FOR OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES): Male age and male factor diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of embryos biopsied for PGT-A and number of embryos suitable for transfer. RESULTS: The median number of embryos biopsied per cycle and the median number of embryos suitable for transfer did not differ across male age groups. When comparing all cycles with and without male factor infertility, regardless of age, there were a similar number of embryos biopsied per cycle (5 [3,8] vs 5 [3,8]), but a higher median number of embryos suitable for transfer (4 [2,6] vs 3 [2,5], p = 0.01) in the cycles with no male factor diagnoses. When examining outcomes by specific male factor diagnoses, no differences were seen in the number of embryos biopsied or the number suitable for transfer. CONCLUSION: Together, these data suggest that while male age does not significantly impact embryo suitability for transfer, the presence of any male factor diagnoses does decrease the number of embryos available for transfer.