Collection of the sample
It is recommended that you have not ejaculated for a period of 2-5 days before providing the sample. The semen is best collected by masturbation into a sterile container in a private room at the laboratory. Some men prefer to produce the sample at home and bring it in and this can be done providing it is kept at body temperature and reaches the laboratory within an hour.
If for religious or other reasons it is not possible to produce the sample by masturbation the laboratory has special condoms that may be used instead. Ordinary condoms cannot be used because they contain substances that kill sperm. Some men feel anxious about producing the sperm sample. Any concerns should be discussed with the doctor or the laboratory staff.
Reporting of results
The reporting of the results of a semen analysis varies between laboratories. Preferably the test should be done in a specialised laboratory where they have a lot of experience and where they use the approved methods of the World Health Organisation. A number of parameters are measured and the normal values for these are:
| Volume | Greater than 2.0 ml |
| Sperm concentration (Count) | Greater than 20 million sperm/ml |
| Sperm motility (Movement) | Greater than 50% with forward movement |
| Sperm morphology (Shape) | Greater than 15% with normal forms |
| White blood cells | Less than 1 million cells/ml |
| Sperm antibodies | Less than 50% with adherent particles |
Sperm count
The number of sperm is an indicator of potential fertility but needs to be looked at in relation to the other parameters measured. If everything else is normal but the count is less than 5 million per millilitre, the chance of pregnancy is still 25% within a two-year period.
Sperm movement
If the sperm count is low, the number of moving sperm is also often low and it is not always possible to understand the cause of this. If both the sperm count and number of moving sperm are low, the chance of spontaneous pregnancy is very low and IVF or ICS may be the only chance of achieving a pregnancy.
Shape
Even in normally fertile men, the number of abnormally shaped sperm is often greater than 50%. As little as 15% normally shaped sperm is regarded as normal. Fertility is severely reduced if the percentage of normal sperm is less than 5%.
White blood cells
If there are more than the expected white blood cells in the semen this may be due to an infection. The infection can affect the sperm quality and should be treated.
Sperm antibodies
Some men produce sperm antibodies and these cause the sperm to clump together and reduce fertility.
The semen analysis results gives an indication of the man’s potential to father a child. However, sperm quality varies over time and unless there is no sperm present at all it is still an imprecise measure of male fertility.
Other factors will affect the chance of pregnancy occurring, for example:
- the age of the woman and whether she also has infertility problems,
- the timing of intercourse
- the period of time the couple has been trying to have a baby.
