Fertility tests for men

Home fertility tests for women have been around for years and many women have successfully used them to pinpoint when they are ovulating in order to time sex for the best chance of conceiving. And a similar concept aimed at men will soon hit the shelves in the UK – the SpermCheck fertility test, designed for couples who are struggling to conceive but aren’t yet ready to seek professional help, is currently undergoing a review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S.

How SpermCheck works

While home ovulation test kits only require that you pee on a stick to check if you are ovulating, the SpermCheck test is a tad more complicated. It works by detecting an antigen (a substance that causes the immune system to produce antibodies) called SP-10, which is found on the surface of the head of a sperm cell.

After collecting a semen sample you let it rest for 20 minutes, collect 100 microliters using a pipette, and then mix the semen with a detergent-containing substance known as a buffer, which releases the SP-10 protein from the sperm. You then put a few drops of this mix into the two sample wells. Within seven minutes, the test results will appear in test windows above the wells.

Fertility problems in men

Sperm counts of 20 million per milliliter of semen and above are considered normal – the test will tell a man whether or not his sperm count meets this cutoff, and if it doesn’t whether he has a severely low sperm count (considered to be below five million sperm per milliliter) that might be contributing to fertility problems. If the test indicates a very low sperm count, you can then go on to seek medical treatment for infertility. In studies, SpermCheck was accurate 96 percent of the time, the researchers found. Ninety-five percent of the time a laboratory professional and a lay person got the same result when reading a single test independently.

The good thing about SpermCheck is that it can forewarn you of any potential issues ahead of seeking medical help to conceive, without breaking the bank – it is expected to sell for about £15. However, it can only check your sperm count and won’t tell you why it is low, so if a problem is found it’s likely that your fertility clinic will follow up with more tests to confirm SpermCheck’s findings and pinpoint where the problem may lie.

Other fertility tests for men

Sperm analysis is the most common procedure for assessing a man’s fertility – a semen sample is examined under a microscope to check the count, shape, appearance, and mobility of the sperm it contains. If you sperm count is considered low, your blood testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which occurs in men as well as women and stimulates the production of sperm, luteinizing hormone (LH), which can indicate testicular failure if levels are high, and prolactin (although its role in male infertility isn’t clear, high levels are associated with a low sperm count). Your urine may also be analysed to check for excess white blood cells, which could indicate an infection, and for the presence of sperm, which could suggest a problem called retrograde ejaculation (where semen enters the bladder instead of being ejaculated during sex).

Typically, if the problem lies with the man, sperm analysis will pinpoint what the issue is but if it doesn’t a series of tests is generally carried out on the woman before testing the man any further. If the woman is found to be ovulating normally, further tests may be carried out on the man. These may include:

Sperm agglutination This tests examines sperm under a microscope to determine whether individual sperms clumping together – it this occurs, it prevents sperm from swimming through cervical mucus.
Acrosome reaction This test assesses whether sperm heads can go through the chemical changes necessary to dissolve the outer shell of the egg.
Hypo-osmotic swelling This test assesses sperm’s swimming ability by exposing it to a special solution. The tails of healthy sperm swell in this solution, whereas dead or abnormal sperm don’t react in this way.
Testicular biopsy A small piece of tissue is removed from the testicles and examined to evaluate sperm production.
Vasography An x-ray exam is used to check for blockages or leakage of sperm in the vas deferens, which is the tiny tube along which semen travels to the urethra.
Ultrasound An ultrasound scan can be used to check for damage or blockages anywhere in the male reproductive tract.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

Last Modified: 07/03/2010