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Kokopelli Technologies LLC

Kokopelli Technologies, LLC

Fertility for Men

Your source for
male fertility products
and information.
 

Do Your Own Sperm Count at Home

I loved using the microscope. I think it is a much better way to check your sperm counts than one of those color change tests. The Babystart test did not work well for me. When I could see the sperm I was confident that I knew what was happening.

Eric T.


Please, if you're considering buying a microscope, spend the money and get a good one. I say this from experience.

A. F.

Kokopelli Technologies, LLC provides instructions, microscopes, and semen analysis supplies so you can do your own sperm count and evaluate motility in the privacy and comfort of your own home. Kokopelli Technologies makes it easy!

What are Normal Results for Semen Analysis?

Man in thought

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy gives the following guidance on what is generally considered a measure of acceptable fertility after the ejaculate has liquefied for 20 to 30 minutes.

  • Ejaculate volume: 2 to 6 mL
  • Viscosity: liquefies within 1 hour
  • Gross and microscopic appearance: semen should be opaque or cream colored
  • Sperm count: greater than 20 million per mL
  • Sperm motility at 1 and 3 hours: greater than 50%
  • Sperm morphology: more than 60% are normal

Does this mean that if your numbers are below these levels you cannot get pregnant? Of course not. There are many examples of couples getting pregnant with sperm counts below 20 M/mL or with less than 10% motility. The numbers above represent what is generally considered adequate for a man to be fertile.

A 1987 article from European Urology provides a different perspective-. . . the realistic cutoff point between fertile and infertile semen should be a sperm concentration of 10 million/ml, a total sperm per ejaculate of 25 million, percentage motile and well-formed sperms of 40 and 60, respectively. A 2005 review article suggested- . . . thresholds of <5% normal sperm morphology, a concentration <15 million /ml, and a motility <30% should be used to identify the subfertile male.

Bear in mind that a man's fertility can fluctuate a great deal from week to week. Lots of things affect male fertility. If your fertility is low you should have at least three semen analyses before reaching any conclusions.

It is important that semen analysis be done soon after ejaculating and that the sample be kept warm. Semen analysis is done by people. People get busy. People make mistakes. Do not be too disheartened by a single result.

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