NCT07062237

A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Embryo Euploidy Rates Following Ultrashort Versus Standard Abstinence

A Double-Blinded Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Euploidy Rates Among Embryos Created From Sibling Oocytes Exposed to Sperm After Ultrashort Abstinence Compared With Standard Abstinence

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 187 (estimated)
• Sponsor: UConn Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 42 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This research is being done to determine if producing sperm after an ultrashort period of abstinence (1 hour of abstinence) will be effective in improving the rates of embryos with normal chromosomes (structures that carry genetic information) during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. The investigators hypothesize that a shorter period of abstinence is effective at improving rates of normal chromosomes among embryos.

Detailed description

As part of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, eggs are removed from the ovaries and are inseminated (mixed) or injected with sperm. Typically, sperm samples for IVF are produced on the day of egg retrieval. The current recommendation for abstinence prior to providing this sample is 2-7 days. However, new research has shown that there may be improved IVF outcomes with a shorter period of abstinence including improved integrity of sperm DNA (called sperm DNA fragmentation), sperm parameters (such as motility and shape), embryo quality, implantation rates, pregnancy rates, and live birth rates. One small study found that shorter abstinence may even lead to a higher rate of chromosomally normal embryos. The purpose of this research study is to determine whether using an ultrashort period of abstinence increases the rates of embryos with normal chromosomes. On the day of egg retrieval, participants will produce two semen samples. The first sample will be collected after 2-5 days of abstinence (standard abstinence). The second sample will be collected 1 hour after the first sample (ultrashort abstinence). Both of these samples will be used for IVF. At the time of egg retrieval, participants will have their eggs randomized (like the flip of a coin) into two groups. Half of the eggs will be exposed to sperm produced after 2-5 days of abstinence (standard abstinence). The other half of the eggs will be exposed to sperm produced after 1 hour of abstinence (ultrashort abstinence). The goal is to determine the rate of embryos with normal chromosomes in each group. Other goals include looking at how many patients get pregnant after embryo transfer.

Conditions

• Infertility
• Male Factor Infertility

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Ultrashort abstinence	Ultrashort abstinence: producing a sperm sample after 1 hour of abstinence.
OTHER	Standard abstinence	Standard abstinence: producing a sperm sample after 2-5 days of abstinence.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-07-01
• Primary completion: 2026-06-01
• Completion: 2027-06-01
• First posted: 2025-07-14
• Last updated: 2025-07-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States