From several reports and studies available, about a third of infertility problems are due to problems with the male reproductive tract, another third due to problems in the female reproductive system, while others are either due to a combined factor or are unexplained.

Unlike the female sex, that has a very complicated reproductive system, the male system is less complicated and most causes of male infertility can be traced to sperm disorders. Several million sperm cells is are released in the male ejaculation (semen) during sexual intercourse. However, out of these millions deposited into the vagina, only a few hundreds will finally make the journey to the female egg and have a chance of fertilizing it. The number of sperm that make this all-important journey determines to a large extent, a man’s chances of getting his partner pregnant. This is because, the more sperm cells that get to the egg, the better the chances of a successful fertilization.

There are several biological reactions that occur at the point of contact between the sperm cell and the egg. The more sperm cells that come close to the egg, the more likelihood that one of them will posses what it takes to cross the ‘protective walls’ around the egg. There are several factors that determine the success of the male sperm in this respect, these include; the number of sperm cells released known as ’sperm count’, the motility of the sperms, the sperm quality and the shape and size of the sperm cells.

Problems with any of these factors may cause difficulties with fertility. Sperm count, i.e. the number of sperm cells released in the semen, is a very important factor in male fertility. A larger amount of sperm cells is almost always a guarantee that enough cells would make the journey to the egg and achieve the needed fertilization. However, what seems to be even more crucial is the vitality and motility of these sperm cells. A few virile cells reaching the egg would produce a better result than a bunch of abnormal sperm cells. Some men with a low sperm count, but high sperm quality happen to be fertile. The sense here is that, an optimal sperm count with high quality sperm cells is the key to male fertility.