Is infertility caused by gene mutations hereditary?

If surgery to find sperm and in vitro fertilization are successful, will the child inherit the same genes as the father? (Ngoc Van, Ho Chi Minh City)

Reply:

AZF is a coding region located on the long arm of the Y chromosome in men, including subregions containing genes that determine the ability to produce sperm. AZFc in the last position is often susceptible to deletion mutations during the separation process, accounting for 60-80% of male infertility cases due to azoospermia related to AZF deletion mutations, the ability to find sperm is about 60-70%.

If your husband has a Y chromosome microdeletion mutation in the AZFa or AZFb region completely (large deletion, profound effect), the chance of finding sperm is almost non-existent.

If your husband has micro-TESE surgery, sperm is found, and in vitro fertilization is successful, in case a girl is born, the baby will completely receive her father’s X chromosome so she will not inherit this mutation. If you give birth to a boy, he will inherit all of his father’s Y chromosome and may carry this genetic abnormality, affecting fertility. Therefore, boys should have their reproductive health examined early in adulthood to have appropriate treatment strategies.

At the Reproductive Support Center, Tam Anh General Hospital (IVF Tam Anh) in Ho Chi Minh City, doctors combine many modern methods and techniques to treat many cases such as a couple with a healthy child without genetic abnormalities.

Methods such as micro-TESE, which uses a microtome with approximately 30x magnification, increase the likelihood of detecting potential seminiferous tubules in the testicles. Embryologists use an inverted microscope system with 200 times magnification to search for sperm and inject it into the egg cytoplasm to increase the likelihood of fertilization. Embryos are cultured in a dynamic cabinet system equipped with continuous surveillance cameras, increasing the embryo culture rate to the 5th day stage.

Embryologists use specialized tools to extract about 5-10 cells from the part that will develop into the placenta to analyze the genetics of the preimplantation embryo (PGT). After the biopsy, the embryos need to be frozen to wait for the results. Embryos that do not carry genetic abnormalities will be selected to be thawed and transferred into your uterus to give birth to a healthy baby.

In addition to genetic factors, male infertility can also be due to many other causes such as abnormalities in the reproductive system, inflammatory diseases, lifestyle… When your son reaches puberty, you can consider testing his semen. In case of necessity, sperm can be frozen to help preserve fertility.