Sperm motility: What MOT means for your fertility treatment

You've probably heard of sperm count, but what about sperm motility?

When you order donor sperm straws, you need to know which quality to order – and that's where MOT enters the picture.

Sperm count, quality, motility and MOT – what should I know?

We perform a preliminary sperm test on potential donors to verify the quality of the sperm. After a donor has been approved, every straw donated is analysed and assigned a MOT number.

MOT is short for motility – the ability to move. The number refers to progressively motile sperm cells pr. millilitre. As an example, a MOT20 straw contains 20 million motile sperm per millilitre.

Sperm count is the concentration of sperm. It measures the number of sperm cells present in a millilitre of semen.

Sperm motility denotes how many of the sperm cells present are actively moving in a forward direction.

How does MOT affect the chance of pregnancy?

The sperm cell's biggest goal is to reach the egg, and to do so it needs to move efficiently.

Sperm moves either progressively (in a straight line or large circles) or non-progressively (not in a straight line or very tight circles).

The higher the MOT, the more progressive movement there is and more sperm cells are likely to reach the egg and fertilise it.

Simply put, the higher the MOT, the higher the chance of pregnancy.

Which MOT should I choose for my fertility treatment?

Different fertility treatment types use different MOT, so when you add straws from your chosen donor to your cart, you can see which treatment type a straw is typically used for.

The quality you need depends on

• your fertility test results
• your fertility treatment type

If you have chosen a fertility clinic to work with, consult them about their recommended MOT for your treatment before you order.

IUI: MOT10 – MOT20
For Intrauterine Insemination it's common to use MOT10 or 20 which have more motile cells to travel through the cervix and fallopian tubes to reach the egg.

IVF: MOT5 – MOT10
In Vitro Fertilisation is often possible with MOT5 or 10 as the sperm has direct access to the egg during lab fertilisation.

ICSI: MOT2 – MOT5
Sperm with a lower amount of motile cells like MOT2 or 5 can be used for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection as the sperm cell is injected directly into the egg with a micropipette.

What's in a sperm straw?

All our straws contain washed sperm, and each straw contains 0.5 ml of sperm which is the amount normally used per procedure. Hence, a MOT20 straw will contain 10 million progressively moving sperm cells.

Every single sperm donation's motility is tested in the lab. To ensure consistent sperm quality, we perform the tests after freezing and thawing the sperm.

We round down – not up.

If a straw tests at MOT9, we round it down to MOT5, meaning you will never receive less than the quality you order.