Fertility in Males with Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract

Two unrelated males with cystic fibrosis had normal sperm counts and volume of ejaculate, and one of them fathered two children. Detailed chemical and morphologic analyses of the semen from the first patient were normal. These findings are in contrast to the aspermia and abnormal chemical values in semen previously reported for patients with cystic fibrosis. In a survey of 105 cystic-fibrosis centers, 78 responded to a questionnaire and reported fertility data on 117 males; two (those reported in this paper) were fertile, and another six were believed to have fathered children but their semen was not studied. Normal fertility occurs in a small but appreciable number of males (in the range of 2 to 3 per cent) with this disease. The finding of such fertile males has genetic, social, and psychologic implications and makes it mandatory to evaluate the semen (at a minimum, sperm count and ejaculate volume measurement) in all postpubescent males with this disease before counseling.