The hypoosmotic swelling test and cryosurvival of human spermatozoa.

The hypoosmotic swelling test is a simple laboratory test to evaluate the functional integrity of the membrane of human spermatozoa. This test was performed on 83 samples of human semen before cryopreservation to determine whether it has any predictive value for the cryosurvival of human spermatozoa. Stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that conventional sperm characteristics, including the concentration, motility, normal morphology and viability, of pre-freeze semen samples were of limited value in predicting the cryosurvival of human spermatozoa. Further, the hypoosmotic swelling test results from pre-freeze semen samples did not correlate with the post-thaw motility or the survival rate of spermatozoa after cryopreservation.