Caution Advised On Test For Male Infertility

7 November 2002
Caution Advised On Test For Male Infertility
by George Atkinson

A male infertility test that has FDA approval for over the counter sale is expected to be marketed soon. But UAB male infertility specialist Peter Kolettis, M.D., says the in-home test might only give the user a sense of fertility potential.

"This test only determines whether the sperm concentration surpasses a certain threshold. It does not measure other important factors, such as motility." Fertility is a couple phenomenon, he says, and "the evaluation must also include female factors. This test might delay a couple getting to the bottom of a fertility problem."

"For the cost of the new test, a man could get a much more informative semen analysis from a physician."