Home Sperm Analysis: Beware the Pitfalls
"A little information can be a dangerous thing."
Once again, there is something new hitting the stores - a new test that measures sperm motility so couples at home can check their fertility status. Wow. At first this seems like a great idea. So easy, so comfortable, so inexpensive.
But there is a problem. In fact, a lot of problems. First, as a male fertility specialist that works with semen analysis daily as part of my vasectomy reversal program, motility alone is almost meaningless. What about the sperm count? What about semen volume? These numbers individually mean almost nothing. But when you look at the total count of motile sperm, which require all these numbers to be multiplied, then you have a number to start with. Then, anyone with any knowledge will tell you that you need two or three counts, each one after 3 days of sexual abstinence, each 8 weeks apart.
So how does this home quickie home test fit in? Especially since there are so many other important aspects of a semen analysis that are not addressed? My fear is that for most couples, they will assume that if their numbers come back "ok" then they will use that information to justify not seeing a male fertility specialist. Simply bad medicine.
But it gets worse. Many times men will have what looks like adequate numbers but could still have serious problems. Testicular cancer is found in one out of every 100 men that is evaluated at a specialty male fertility clinic - something that could not be detected on a home semen analysis kit. So what happens to those guys? Do they not know until the tumor has grown? Will men still go see a male fertility specialist for an exam? I doubt it.
Lastly, all the advances in human fertility and all the amazing miracles are a direct result and spin-off of animal/livestock fertility research. Yet something strange has happened over the past decade. Somehow, the human fertility specialists have lost touch with the animal researchers that are years ahead. Human fertility specialists still use sperm motility as a major marker for fertility. This has been shown to be of minimal importance in the animal world, which has now identified markers for fertility. Then why are we still looking at motility? That's a good question.
I am sure the kit will be a good tool to use in conjunction with a formal fertility evaluation. My experience suggests that most will not do this, and use the information from this home test to replace a doctor's exam and formal fertility testing. I hope I am wrong. A little information can be a dangerous thing.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: male fetility, semen analysis, motility, testicular cancer, men's health, health and wellness
Once again, there is something new hitting the stores - a new test that measures sperm motility so couples at home can check their fertility status. Wow. At first this seems like a great idea. So easy, so comfortable, so inexpensive.
But there is a problem. In fact, a lot of problems. First, as a male fertility specialist that works with semen analysis daily as part of my vasectomy reversal program, motility alone is almost meaningless. What about the sperm count? What about semen volume? These numbers individually mean almost nothing. But when you look at the total count of motile sperm, which require all these numbers to be multiplied, then you have a number to start with. Then, anyone with any knowledge will tell you that you need two or three counts, each one after 3 days of sexual abstinence, each 8 weeks apart.
So how does this home quickie home test fit in? Especially since there are so many other important aspects of a semen analysis that are not addressed? My fear is that for most couples, they will assume that if their numbers come back "ok" then they will use that information to justify not seeing a male fertility specialist. Simply bad medicine.
But it gets worse. Many times men will have what looks like adequate numbers but could still have serious problems. Testicular cancer is found in one out of every 100 men that is evaluated at a specialty male fertility clinic - something that could not be detected on a home semen analysis kit. So what happens to those guys? Do they not know until the tumor has grown? Will men still go see a male fertility specialist for an exam? I doubt it.
Lastly, all the advances in human fertility and all the amazing miracles are a direct result and spin-off of animal/livestock fertility research. Yet something strange has happened over the past decade. Somehow, the human fertility specialists have lost touch with the animal researchers that are years ahead. Human fertility specialists still use sperm motility as a major marker for fertility. This has been shown to be of minimal importance in the animal world, which has now identified markers for fertility. Then why are we still looking at motility? That's a good question.
I am sure the kit will be a good tool to use in conjunction with a formal fertility evaluation. My experience suggests that most will not do this, and use the information from this home test to replace a doctor's exam and formal fertility testing. I hope I am wrong. A little information can be a dangerous thing.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: male fetility, semen analysis, motility, testicular cancer, men's health, health and wellness
