The Aim of This Study is to Determine the Incidence of Alterations in Fluorescent In Situ Hybridisation (FISH) of Spermatozoa and to Evaluate the Efficacy of the Use of Annexin Columns (MACS®) in Patients With Altered FISH Undergoing In Vitro Fertilisation Techniques

"The MACS® ART Annexin V System has been designed for the in vitro elimination of apoptotic human spermatozoa in fresh, cryopreserved or otherwise manipulated semen samples. Samples processed by this technique can be subsequently used in any assisted reproduction procedure.~Annexin V recognizes externalized phosphatidylserine (ePS) on the plasma membrane of apoptotic spermatozoa. Depletion of the altered sperm begins with magnetic tagging of the sperm. The system selectively retains unwanted sperm by utilizing the natural ability of annexin V to recognize the ePS on the plasma membrane of the altered sperm, because annexin V is conjugated to metal microspheres. The labeled cells pass through a separation column in a fixed magnetic field. Unwanted (altered) spermatozoa are selectively retained in the separation column. Unlabeled spermatozoa pass through the column where they are collected for later use."