Semen collection at home OK for analysis

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For men undergoing a fertility check-up, a semen specimen obtained at home rather than in the clinic is adequate for analysis. The results are the same for either collection location, according to a report in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility.

Many men find a medical office less than ideal for producing a semen specimen, but they're often told the location is necessary.

"I think traditionally a lot of urologists felt that office collection was more accurate because the specimen could immediately be sent to the lab, but our study revealed that this is not the case," Dr. Rashmi Shetty Licht told Reuters Health.

To investigate the issue, Licht, from Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues analyzed semen from 267 men, each of whom provided samples collected both at home and in the office.

Just over two-thirds of samples collected at home were analyzed within 1 hour of collection, the researchers report, compared with almost all of the samples collected in the office.

There were no significant differences in sperm count, sperm motility, or sperm structure between the samples collected at home and in the office, the results showed.

"Most men would choose to collect at home, and the good news is that they can safely without affecting the results," Licht said.

SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, February 2008.