MACS (Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting) is an immunomagnetic technique allowing the selection of those spermatozoa that do not show signs of cell damage or death (called apoptosis), and therefore maintain their entire DNA intact.
Seminal quality is a crucial factor when it comes to achieving a pregnancy, since it affects both fertilization and subsequent embryo quality. There are different factors that affect semen quality and one of them is the presence of apoptotic sperm. These damaged sperm can be removed from the sample using this technique because their membranes contain markers that can be detected, thus obtaining a fraction that is free of them and, therefore, better quality.
This technique can be used with any kind of patient, but is mainly used with:
This MACs technique uses a magnetic reagent that binds to the phosphatidylserine (PS) portion of the cell membrane. Sperm with abnormal cell membranes or sperm that enters the apoptosis process is sucked up by a magnet. The healthy sperm will normally flow through and can be used for IVF/ICSI/IMSI process.
MACs technique will select normal sperm to increase the chances of fertilization and possibly improve embryo quality after IVF/ICSI/IMSI.
A: MACS increases the chances of fertilization and in terms of embryo development.