Sperm production start in the testes. An average of 100 million sperms are produced everyday in healthy young men. After sperm is produced, it will need to travel along a long channel system starting at the epididymis where they mature along the way, before exiting via the ductal structures called vas deferens and then out the urethra as part of the ejaculate. The entire process of sperm production and maturation takes 3 months. Any serious illness may affect sperm production for up to three months.

A sperm consists of the head, mid-piece and tail. To successfully fertilized an egg, the sperm has to travel through the uterus and fallopian tube to reach the egg. It also requires normally form head to be able to penetrate the egg and release its genetic material.

Male infertility affects around 40% of all infertile couples. The most common causes are low sperm production, abnormal sperm function and blockages that prevent the delivery of sperm. Others are sperm antibodies, chromosome and DNA abnormalities and erectile or ejaculation dysfunction. 

a. Health & lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive drinking, drugs including steroids and recreational use, and obesity.

b. Past medical conditions such as an undescended testes, hernia, STD or severe trauma.

c. Acute viral illness can also temporarily affect sperm health.

d. Severe injuries to the groin will have an impact on sperm production

A semen analysis is the most important test for male fertility.

a. Lifestyle changes include stop smoking and drinking, regular exercise, maintain ideal body mass index and healthy diet.

b. Intrauterine insemination if sperm abnormalities are not too severe.

c. In-vitro fertilization with Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) for severe sperm abnormalities which involves injecting a single sperm into each egg to achieve fertilization

d. Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) is a surgically retrieved sperm from the epididymis or Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) if there are no sperm in the ejaculate.

What is Semen Analysis?

A semen analysis measures the number of sperm, their motility (ability to move), their morphology (size and shape), and the volume and consistency of the ejaculated sample. A semen analysis is the most important male infertility test.

A normal semen analysis result would show a sperm count of at least 15 million sperm per mL, with at least half showing forward progressive movement.

How to do Semen Analysis?

You will need to produce a semen sample and should reach our lab within 30 minutes or you can produce the sample in our provided room. The sample will be analyzed for the appearance, number of sperm, motility and morphology. Any detected abnormality will require a repeated test within 2-3 months due to the life cycle of the sperm production takes 72 days.