Sperm Washing

Sperm washing is a laboratory preparation technique that removes seminal plasma, dead or poorly motile sperm, white blood cells, and other debris. The most common method is density gradient centrifugation, which layers sperm over a density medium so the healthiest sperm pellet to the bottom.

Washed sperm are used in IUI (injected directly into the uterus, where raw semen would cause painful cramping from prostaglandins), IVF, ICSI, and for recipients using donor sperm.

The process takes 30–90 minutes and can improve total motile sperm count by concentrating the best fraction from the sample.