🩺 Health · Conception
🧪 Semen analysis & sperm quality: the complete lowdown
A semen analysis is one part of fertility assessment, not a verdict on fatherhood.
How does the test actually go down?
1. What to prepare
Use the laboratory’s collection and transport instructions, including its requested abstinence period; report collection difficulties or recent illness.
2. What to check
Discuss results and any repeat testing with the clinician. Do not diagnose infertility from a single value or use generic thresholds in place of interpretation.
3. In Ireland
Ask your GP about a regional fertility hub. Public funding has access criteria distinct from private treatment: HSE guidance excludes treatment needing donor sperm or eggs. Do not equate public-funding exclusion with a general legal ban for single or same-sex parents.
A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team
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When in doubt, contact your doctor or midwife. For a life-threatening emergency, call 112 or 999.