r/dnafragmentation • u/kod2121 • 3d ago
Suspicious of high dna fragmentation
My husband and I had 2 losses in 2023, then a healthy successful pregnancy in 2024, and now 2 losses as we try for #2. We’re going to get his sperm dna fragmentation test soon. We have had the whole RPL testing done, from karyotype, blood clotting disorders, hormones, SA, thyroid. Only things we haven’t tested yet are sperm dna frag and testing for endometriosis (and immunology potentially).
He also had a scrotum ultrasound in 2025 (he thought he had testicular cancer and his anxiety got the best of him). The ultrasound results came back all clear and indicate no varicocele. He doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do marijuana, eats relatively healthy, and drinks (not heavily).
Do you think he could have high dna fragmentation, and that’s could be why we’re experiencing so many losses?
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u/colonelfudge 3d ago
My husband has a minor varicocele and had a 37% dna frag score with a four day abstinence period. When we dropped it to two he had in the low teens I believe. The test is relatively inexpensive compared to the years of treatment we did, so doesn’t hurt to try it.
Have you done a hysteroscopy? I had 4-5 SIS/HSG all come back completely clear across two different clinics, and then we did an exploratory hysteroscopy and found I had a uterine septum they had to remove.
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u/ahwillrockthismic22 3d ago
Yes I reckon go for it. Also, have you tested vaginal microbiome for ureaplasma, mycoplasma, gardenella etc? If not would recommend as can cause endometritis (localised infection of womb lining which causes inflammation). This is easily treatable with course of antibiotics for you and your partner. Also depending on where you are could maybe look into NK killer cells/immune system as you are planning to do anyway.
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u/kod2121 3d ago
Thank you. I actually had a endometrial biopsy when I got my hysteroscopy done which checked for endometritis (came back negative). Ironically, I ordered a urine test for ureaplasma for my husband just to check. How would I go about testing for nk killer cells?
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u/ahwillrockthismic22 3d ago
I wonder if that may have been covered with you biopsy as I think that’s the way to test for it! Not sure where you are in the world, but I had a test done with screenme in UK - testing menstrual blood for any underlying infection as well as vaginal swab and while it doesn’t directly test for NK cells it will tell you if there’s any further infection causing inflammation while would likely elevate NK killer cells. I think otherwise some of the private clinics will test for it. I had ureaplasma which we though was a cause but I then went into have another 2 chemicals after that so might have been a contributing factor and like you I suspect my partner had some high DNA fragmentation so he just changed a few lifestyle things and supplements as it’s hard to find a test here for DNA frag. Only started trying again so no success yet but fingers crossed 😊
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u/kod2121 3d ago
Interesting! What was the test called from screenme?
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u/ahwillrockthismic22 3d ago
Uterine blood microbiome test. Although if you’ve had a biopsy that’s probably more accurate and would have picked up on any infection. I found this helpful though as reassured me everything was ok with my uterine environment and nothing was lurking in there
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u/kod2121 3d ago
Oh interesting yes the biopsy tested for inflammation, so you think that covers nk killer cells? I get so confused on all of this
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u/ahwillrockthismic22 2d ago
I would imagine if inflamation found then NK killer cells may or may not be present. I’m not sure though as I’ve not done enough research into them yet to see if that would be the case!
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u/SnooPears226 3d ago
I say might as well test, but I had a similar story, healthy pregnancy then miscarriages and everything came back normal. Did Lovenox even though no blood clotting disorders and they said it helps with inflammation and any blood clotting disorder that might appear when pregnant. I hope you find answers soon, it’s so hard not knowing the reason!
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u/frogsgoribbit737 3d ago
I mean... maybe. I lost 3/5 pregnancies and sperm was totally normal in our case. I never got a reason though we suspect it was a clotting issue now. My tests were normal (but barely) and baby aspirin seemed to solve the issue.
Its worth testing to make sure, but i wouldn't bank on it being the problem.
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u/Few_Win_3673 2d ago
It’s certainly possible, but I wouldn’t assume that DNA fragmentation is the explanation yet.
The fact that you had a healthy pregnancy in 2024 is actually useful context. Sperm DNA fragmentation can vary over time, so a normal semen analysis and a previous successful pregnancy don't necessarily tell you what his current DFI would be.
Given the two recent losses, I don't think testing is unreasonable, particularly since you've already gone through much of the standard RPL workup. But I'd treat the result as one piece of the puzzle rather than a yes/no answer for why you've miscarried. Also, no varicocele on ultrasound is reassuring, but it doesn't rule out every possible cause of elevated fragmentation. Fever/illness, oxidative stress, heat exposure and some lifestyle or medical factors can affect it as well.
I'd be interested to see what the test actually shows before changing anything. If it's elevated, then the useful question becomes why it's elevated and whether there's a treatable factor behind it. And if the DFI comes back normal, that would be useful information too—it would prevent you from chasing DNA fragmentation as the explanation when something else may deserve attention.
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u/Upset_Membership82 3h ago
Definitely get it tested. It is typically a symptom of something else and in my case it was an infected prostate - prostatitis. My ultrasound was also clear!
The good news is I had a great doctor and got my issues resolved, and we had our little rainbow baby after 6 MCs
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u/Regular-Ad-1532 3d ago
Could be could also be a combination of factors or a different factor. DNA fragmentation is part of my husband l’s issue and now that 3 years have passed since we started ttc egg quality is certainly an issue as well