Chromosomes of human sperm: variability among normal individuals.

The chromosomal constitution of 2468 human sperm cells has been investigated by fusion of human sperm with hamster eggs. The overall frequency of cells with structural aberrations was 7.7%, ranging from 1.9% to 15.8%, and varying significantly among individuals. The highest frequency occurred in sperm from the oldest donor (49 years), who also had had a vasectomy reversal three years prior to sampling. The overall aneuploidy frequency was 1.7%, ranging from 0.6% to 3.1%. In nine out of ten donors from whom blood samples were available the frequency of sperm cells with structural aberrations was higher than that for lymphocytes. Two previously reported donors (Brandriff et al. 1984) were resampled after an interval of 14 and 16 months respectively, and were each found to have similar frequencies of sperm chromosome abnormalities at both sampling times. A father-son pair included in the study had several chromosome breakpoints in common, although no more frequently than unrelated individuals.