Is fresh semen as good as frozen?

[Dreamsister]

Dear Dr. Braverman. My DH and I are going for our first IVF-PDG-treatment in May, but because of logistic reasons my DH has to go ahead of me and leave his semen sample which will be used later that week when I have my ER. But I am afraid that I might reduce my chances of success if I use thawed semen. Is the thawed as good as fresh when it comes to fertilization? Thank you in advance for taking time to answer my question.

[Dr. Braverman]

Although Fresh is clearly better, in a healthy woman that should have plenty of viable eggs , I do not think you will be dramatically lowering your chances of conception. Good Luck.

[Dreamsister]

Thank you so much for your quick reply. If you think fresh is clearly better, then I don't want to risk a chance, and my DH will have to go together with me for ER. I am 40 and might only have a few good eggs, so I don't want to risk any chances of conception. Is the fresh better because there are more aktive semen-cells alive and because some semen might die during the freezing/thawing process?

[Dr. Braverman]

Its not the survival issue as we would only do ICSI with sperm that have thawed, but the fertilization rates that are not as high .