Crysta IVF, one of India’s most trusted fertility chains, co-founded by Dheeraj Jain, Harshita Jain and Preeti Agarwal in 2019, has recently undertaken research on the impact of Covid-19 infection on male and female fertility.
According to the research conducted by Dr. Ruchi Malhotra, MBBS, DGO, DNB, MNAMS along with Dr. Shibichakravarthy Kannan, MBBS PhD, Dr. Deepika Kalo, Senior Scientist and PHD in Genetics and Rakesh Maurya at Crysta IVF, men with novel Coronavirus infections had elevated levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and decreased ratios of testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), compared to healthy men. Crysta IVF found that patients with moderate Covid infections had a decrease in overall sperm quality including sperm concentration and motility compared to men without infection, which persisted even up to 60 days post-infection. Additionally, they also had a 50% reduction in semen volume. In females, however, damage to the reproductive system due to Covid infection has not been ascertained because most of the findings are in very early stages. But there is significant evidence that female reproductive processes such as follicular development, oocyte maturation and ovulation have connections to ACE2 receptors (Renin-Angiotensin System).
Dr. Ruchi Malhotra, an IVF Consultant & Infertility Specialist with over 2 decades of experience and one of the key researchers involved in the study, said, “Post Covid there has been a temporary decrease in fertility among men because of the impact of the virus on the semen parameters.”
Adding to this, Dheeraj Jain, Founder, Crysta IVF, said, “We initiated the research as we observed a lot of ambiguity and misconceptions related to the impact of Covid on fertility. People were getting information from unreliable sources, thus creating panic and concern. We were also getting regular queries related to the impact of this virus on the reproductive health of both men and women. Thus, Crysta IVF took a step forward to understand the precise impact and the research conducted under the professional guidance of qualified and experienced doctors have enabled us to pave the way ahead to analyze the relationship between Covid infection and fertility. The predictive analytics research sing machine learning resulted in identifying possible ways in which it is SARS-CoV-2 might also affect female fertility in terms of attacking ovarian tissue and granulosa cells, and decrease ovarian function and oocyte quality, and resulting in infertility or miscarriage or by damaging endometrial cells thereby affecting embryo implantation success. We continue to collect more data and carrying forward further research to all our centers”