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https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2025.66.71
Testicular tissue bank: ten years of testicular tissue cryopreservation in Croatia
Marija Ćapin Vilaj
; Department of Transfusion Medicine and Transplantation Biology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Monika Trupinić
; Department of Transfusion Medicine and Transplantation Biology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Ante Jug
; University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Dinko Hauptman
; Department of Urology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Zoran Zimak
; Department of Urology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Željko Kaštelan
; Department of Urology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Davor Ježek
; Centre of Excellence for Reproductive and Regenerative Medicine, University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The Testicular Tissue Bank has been operating at the Uni
versity Hospital Center (UHC) Zagreb since 2013. It aims to
cryopreserve testicular tissue from patients with azoosper
mia. If spermatozoa are found in the collected tissue, a
combined procedure known as testicular sperm extraction
(TESE)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is performed.
During the last 10 years, our bank has deposited samples
from 443 patients collected either by conventional TESE or
microsurgical TESE procedure. Among them, 9% were from
oncological patients whose samples were stored to pre
serve fertility. According to pathohistological analysis, 17%
of patients were diagnosed with complete spermatogen
esis or hypospermatogenesis, 11% with spermatogenic ar
rest, 48% with mixed atrophy of seminiferous tubules, and
24% with Sertoli cell-only phenotype or tubular fibrosis.
Overall, the presence of testicular spermatozoa was found
in 58% of patients, which makes them suitable for the ICSI
procedure. In 21 out of 59 patients (36%) who underwent
a salvage TESE, the outcome was different than that of the
first spermatozoa retrieval attempt. Considering that the
male factor is one of the leading causes of infertility, the re
sults of Testicular Tissue Bank activity confirm its important
role in improving the demographic picture of Croatia.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
352473
URI
Publication date:
20.2.2025.
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