A simple new test can predict whether men with zero sperm counts are capable of fathering children through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), scientists say.
Current methods rely on surgery to find out if a man has viable sperm that can be retrieved for fertility treatment.
The new non-invasive test has identified two bio-markers in sperm, which can be used to predict whether sperm retrieval will be successful, 'BBC News' reported.
Male infertility is responsible for about half of cases of infertility.
Fertility treatment can sometimes help men who produce no sperm to father a biological child if they have normal sperm that can be extracted surgically.
Others are unable to father a child naturally and need to use donor sperm.
Using current technology, the only way to find out if a man has viable sperm is to carry out surgery to look for sperm in the testes.
The study suggests two bio-markers can identify who will benefit from surgery, the report said.
The holy grail of the new research was to find a way to help men avoid unnecessary testicular biopsies, said Dr Keith Jarvi of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
