It is defined as the amount of damage seen in the sperm's DNA. i.e. the amount of abnormal genetic material present within the sperm cell, which in turn may be a reason for male subfertility, IVF failure and miscarriage. One must consider the impact of DNA damage on the sperm because half of the DNA in the offspring comes from the father’s side.
Every healthy semen has some amount of fragmented DNA sperm but it is found to be higher in infertile men. Men who have poor semen parameters are more prone to have high sperm DNA fragmentation, but high sperm DNA fragmentation can also be found in men with normal semen parameters, and the reason for their infertility is usually given as unexplained infertility.
