# Paternal thrombophilia and recurrent implantation failure: an exploratory case-control study

## TL;DR

This study explores whether a father's blood clotting condition might contribute to repeated implantation failure in pregnancies.

## Contribution

The study is the first to investigate paternal thrombophilia as a potential risk factor for recurrent implantation failure.

## Key findings

- Paternal coagulation Factor V activity was significantly higher in RIF cases compared to controls.
- Combined thrombophilia was nearly three times more common in RIF fathers than in controls.
- Antithrombin III deficiency was also significantly more prevalent in RIF fathers.

## Abstract

Many pieces of literature have reported that inherited and acquired
thrombophilia might be a risk factor for recurrent implantation failure
(RIF), however, most studies have only focused on RIF patients and not their
male partners. We studied the possible association of paternal thrombophilia
with RIF risk.

Forty-two male partners aged 20-45 suffered from RIF compared with 42 males
from couples with at least one successful pregnancy. All participants were
investigated for thrombophilia markers.

The prevalence of coagulation Factor V activity was significantly higher in
the case group (42.9%) than in the control group (16.7%)
(p=0.008) (OR=3.75; 95% CI, 1.38, 10.12). The prevalence of
protein C and protein S deficiencies in RIF patients were 4.8% and 2.4%,
respectively, and 0% in the controls. The prevalence of antithrombin III
(ATIII) deficiency was significantly higher in the case group (19%) than in
the control group (2.4%) (p=0.01). None of MTHFR C677T and
MTHFR A1298C were statistically significant between the two groups. Combined
thrombophilia was 45.2% in the men of the RIF group when compared with the
control, 14.2% (p=0.001) (OR = 4.95; 95% CI,
1.75-13.86).

Paternal thrombophilia may be related to recurrent implantation failure, so
evaluation of this factor in RIF patients could be used to identify relevant
risk groups and may help in the proper management of these cases to enhance
the chance of implantation.