The first drop of sperm is the best

Scientists found surprising things regarding the quality of the sperm in the man's ejaculate:

The sperm cells in the first part of an ejaculate are supposed to be more numerous, mobile, and with more stable DNA. The last drops are surrounded by a concomitant fluid that even contained substances that are hostile to sperm. Scientists suggest that a possible explanation is that the first part primarily serves to fertilize the egg cell, while the second part simultaneously represents a kind of defense against subsequent foreign sperm. In a series of experiments, the first part of the ejaculate accounted for 15–45% of the total ejaculate and was rich in nutrients such as magnesium, zinc, citric acid, and phosphates. The second larger part, however, contained fewer sperm and also substances that are more negatively affecting the quality of the sperm cells.

For us, reproductive medicine specialists and biologists, this is an important finding that we could IVF use, for example, in the context of a study, because until now all ejaculate components were always mixed together. The researchers led by Dr. Maria Hebles (Seville) recommend using only the first part of the ejaculate in the future. „This would improve sperm quality in a simple way and at no additional cost.“.

However, our sperm donors would have to change the container during ejaculation for this to work.

The entire work can be read in:

Hebles M, Dorado M, Gallardo M, González-Martínez M, Sánchez-Martín P. Seminal quality in the first fraction of ejaculate. Syst Biol Reprod Med. 2014.