Electroejaculation is a newly developed method to retrieve sperm in anejaculatory spinal cord injured (SCI) males. We studied 25 completely traumatic SCI males from August 1990 to May 1991. The patients' ages ranged from 18.7 to 43.3 years, and the interval since injury ranged from four months to 14.1 years. The level of injury varied from C5 to T12. Bi-directional emission was found in 12 patients, antegrade in nine, retrograde in one and failure in three. Electroejaculatory stimulation parameters were 434 +/- 54 mA for mean maximum current, 21.7 +/- 2.7 volts for mean maximum voltage and 35.9 +/- 3.1 degrees C for mean maximum probe temperature. The antegrade semen obtained showed wide variations in sperm quality and quantity between subjects. The total sperm count was 478 +/- 809 x 10(6) in the antegrade portion, and the sperm motility was below 5% in most cases. The retrograde portion was usually worse. There was no correlation between sperm quality and quantity with patient age, injury level or injury period. Bladder management had no effect on the results of electrical stimulation. Epididymitis had a negative impact on the success of retrieval. Low-level injury victims needed analgesia or anesthesia to complete the stimulation. The major side effects were minimal autonomic dysreflexia and mild rectal mucosal change. Repeated stimulation may improve sperm counts, but semen quality deteriorates if the procedure is performed once a week. As a whole, electroejaculation is a safe, effective and simple procedure to retrieve sperm in anejaculatory persons, especially SCI patients.