Understanding how we measure sperm motility is a crucial part of the ordering process, as the MOT level varies from one treatment to another. Always ensure to consult your fertility clinic before ordering. Keep on reading, if you want to learn more about the way we decide MOT level and the Cryos Sperm Guarantee.
Overview of the Cryos Sperm Guarantee
| MOT levels | Motile sperm count per straw* |
| MOT2 | 1 Million - 2.49 Million |
| MOT5 | 2.5 Million - 4.9 Million |
| MOT10 | 5 Million - 9.9 Million |
| MOT20 | 10 Million - 14.9 Million |
| MOT30+ | 15 Million + |
*Each sperm straw is 0.5 ml. Two straws will add up to 1 ml of donor sperm. Purchasing two MOT10 straws would provide you with at least 10 million sperm.
How to measure sperm motility?
There are several ways to measure sperm motility and quality. When we receive a sample in our laboratory, we look at:
- The concentration of sperm cells
- The sperm cells’ ability to move
To ensure excellent sperm quality, we measure these parameters on a sample after it has been frozen and thawed as sperm may react differently to freezing. We measure the quality and motility of the sperm with the help of an automatic system called CASA (Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis), which ensures a very precise result.
However, sperm is a biological material and extremely sensitive to a number of factors, including temperature. This means that a variance in the exact motility can be expected when comparing two independent analyses of a sperm sample. At Cryos, we accept a difference of 20%. We always do our best to ensure that the number of active sperm cells equals the stated motility or more (e.g., a MOT10 straw includes at least 10 million active sperm cells per milliliter sperm), and in many cases, the sperm sample will prove to have a higher motility than stated. However, if, after following our straw-handling protocol, your clinic finds that the post-thaw count shows a motility that is more than 20% lower than the stated motility of the sperm sample, your clinic can file a complaint. We will then, together with our laboratory staff, evaluate your claim.
The graph below shows the percentage rate of getting pregnant versus the total sperm count in a sperm sample (millions) using aggregate data. This data is predominantly for clinical IUI inseminations to reduce variable factors like timing, and it shows there is a big difference between the likelihood of getting pregnant using one MOT5 straw for example (guaranteed minimum of 2.5 million sperm per straw) compared to one MOT10 straw (guaranteed minimum 5 million sperm per straw), and the recommended two MOT10 straws (guaranteed between 10 million sperm and 19 million sperm).
The pregnancy rate when using two MOT10 straws is about 12.5%. This is a 50% increase from the pregnancy rate when using a MOT5 with 2.5 million motile sperm for insemination. The rates continue to increase steadily up to 20 million sperm, and then start to plateau. Therefore, higher MOT levels can be used, but usually, because it is a personal preference versus a higher chance of pregnancy. Cryos has straws ranging from MOT5 – MOT30+.
Have any questions? Contact Cryos
Call Cryos at 407-203-1175 to speak with one of our friendly Customer Care Representatives. They will answer any questions you have about choosing the right sperm donor for your home insemination. A live online chat system is also available during regular operating hours through our website. Follow the link to read more about the home insemination process and the cost of home insemination.