Sperm DNA Damage Before and After Kidney Transplantation

Background: Thirty-six people per one million have end-stage renal disease (ESRD). ESRD has the indication of kidney transplantation; or hemodialysis and it is one of the causes of infertility in men. Objectives: A high prevalence of sperm DNA damage is reported in men’s semen with ESRD; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate sperm DNA damage in men with ESRD before and after kidney transplantation. Methods: This study evaluated 15 men with chronic renal failure and were candidates for kidney transplantation. DNA damage and semen parameters were investigated in the semen of these patients before and after the transplantation. Aniline blue and toluidine blue staining were used to evaluate the sperm chromatin structure and condensation. The slides were analyzed by light microscope to determine the percentage of DNA damage in sperms. Results: The percentage of positive aniline blue and toluidine blue significantly decreased after kidney transplantation (40% versus 29%, P = 0.01 for aniline blue and 45% versus 35%, P = 0.01 for toluidine blue). Sperm morphology, count, motility, and sperm volume were improved after the transplantation; except for the morphology, all of them were statically significant. Conclusions: These findings support that the kidney transplantation in patients with renal failure could improve chromatin structure and condensation and sperm parameters. Additionally both toluidine blue and aniline blue staining are simple and suitable techniques to evaluate DNA damage.