Ideally semen samples should be produced on-site at TDL’s Patient Reception at 76 Wimpole Street, London.
Ideally patients must abstain from ejaculation for 2-3 days prior to the test, generally no less than 2 days and no longer than 7 days before the test is acceptable. This requirement is important for semen analyses and post vasectomy analyses to ensure reliability of results. It is possible that samples that do not comply with guidelines for abstinence and collection may not be able to be processed. For other semen tests like ROS and DNA fragmentation the abstinence period is minimum 2 days but no more than 3 days. All semen samples must be produced directly into the sterile containers provided by The Doctors Laboratory.
All containers are weighed and batch tested for sperm cytotoxicity. In exceptional circumstances when semen samples are produced off-site, they can only be accepted by the Andrology Department in sample containers provided by TDL.
TDL Andrology provides reference values to those given in the most recent WHO guidelines (2021). WHO 2021 guidelines state that two semen analyses should be performed before any diagnosis is confirmed. This may require requests for two (separate) semen analyses.
** For men who have had a vasectomy, clearance should only be given when there is no evidence of presence of sperm in a single ejaculate when recommendations are met. It is rare that a ‘diagnosis’ is made without confirmation, therefore patients/clinicians should be able to freely request a second confirmatory sample. Special clearance may be given at the doctor’s discretion, when there are <100 000/ml non-motile sperm present after the assessment of two specimens in full accordance with recommendations.
Recommendations, as given by the Association of Biomedical Andrologists, the British Andrology Society and the British Association of Urological Surgeons 2016, are as follows:
Analysis of post vasectomy semen samples should not occur until 12 weeks post-surgery and after a minimum of 20 ejaculates
Semen samples must be analysed within 4 hours of production, and in cases where sperm is found a repeat analysis must be performed within 1 hour of production
Semen should be provided in weighed specimen containers provided by TDL Andrology
Sexual abstinence should be between 2 and 7 days.