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The seminogram [WITHOUT TABÚS]: obtaining and transport

semen analysis how to obtain the sample and transport the semen sample

The seminogram: what is it and what do I have to do?

When a couple is looking for a baby and the pregnancy does not arrive, the normal thing is to go to specialists and do a fertility study. And the most common test in men is the seminogram.

It is also called a spermiogram, sperm culture, or seminal culture.

It is a simple process, but you have to be careful when sample collection. 

After all, it needs to be well taken so as not to have to repeat it and for the results of the analysis to be correct. These results are based on the parameters established by the WHO World Health Organization

But do not panic, with a few simple tips you will see how we solve all your doubts.

Differences between seminal analysis laboratories

The first thing you have to know is if the sperm analysis is going to be done in a specialist laboratory in assisted reproduction or in a general laboratory.

Why is this relevant? Because some have a sample collection room and others do not.

Seminograms in reproduction laboratories

In assisted reproduction laboratories they do have spaces where you can seek privacy, in the collection room, and where you feel relaxed to obtain the sample right there. You save yourself from having to worry about safe transportation. In addition, in these laboratories it is possible that they carry out complementary tests such as sperm capacitation, REM (Recovery of Motile Sperm), swim up, or more precisely assess some parameters such as concentration, morphology or mobility, among others.

Spermiogram in a general laboratory

In general laboratories, which is where all kinds of analyzes are carried out (blood, urine, etc.), they do not usually have spaces specially designed for obtaining the semen sample. So the most normal thing is to take it from home. 

If that is your case, you should bear in mind that precautions must be taken during transport so that it does not spoil. In both types of laboratory they will ask you for certain days of abstinence, normally from 3 to 5, but be sure and ask the laboratory where you want to go what sexual abstinence requirements they ask for for the spermiogram test. 

But starting at the beginning ...

How to obtain the seminal sample

Either at home or in the laboratory collection room, the sample is collected in a sterile wide-mouth container. Do you know how are the urine collection? Well, those same ones, like this one from this link: link bounce shows cum

They will provide it to you in the reproductive laboratory or clinic, but if not, you can buy it at the pharmacy.

As you should never use a condom to collect the sample. Keep in mind that condoms contain spermicides, which weaken the sperm. 

Nor should you help yourself with ointments, lubricating creams or even saliva. And forget about using the coitus interruptus. Your penis must be clean, just wash it with soap and water.

Seminal sample collection

How is the semen sample collected? Not sure what it will be like to collect your semen on a boat?

It is useless to be told that it is easy if you do not check it for yourself: if this worries you, you can practice before the day you have to deliver the sample with a seminogram jar. It is a very good idea for you to check if the whole process is easy for you: relax, masturbate, what to do with the boat while, the aim, etc.

Only one catch with the previous advice: don't do it just the day before the test. A few days of abstinence are recommended.

Depending on the laboratory, they will indicate more or less days of sexual abstinence, but the usual thing is that it is between 2 and 5 days. There is no scientific evidence that greater abstinence results in a higher quantity and quality of sperm in the sample.

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How to transport the semen sample  

Once you have the sample for the seminogram or spermiogram, there is not much to worry about either, following a few simple tips you will see how it is perfectly feasible:

  • Time: about 45 minutes from collection to delivery to the laboratory. 
  • The light: it must be dark, as when it is inside the human body. Covering the jar with aluminum foil will suffice. 
  • Temperature: needs to be controlled. Although it admits a fairly wide range, between 20 and 40ºC. In the laboratory they have plates with regulated temperature for the samples, but in your case you will have to do it with your body temperature. 

For practical purposes, what you have to do for the semen analysis to be valid is to leave the house as soon as you obtain the semen sample and prevent it from losing temperature by keeping the boat next to the body.

But you may still wonder what exactly they are going to analyze. It is normal, it is a process that can lead to many doubts and some discomfort. We will clarify it for you below.

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What exactly is a seminogram?

Once the semen sample is delivered, it will take very little time for the laboratory to analyze it. It is analyzed at a macroscopic and microscopic level, to be able to evaluate it as a whole.

What they will do will be a quantitative analysis, to know the concentration of sperm, the volume of the ejaculate, etc.

And also a qualitative analysis, to know how is its quality, color, viscosity and pH among others.

For this reason, the sample must collect the complete ejaculation: if part falls or spills, it should be repeated another day. 

Keep in mind that not all ejaculates are sperm. In fact, and beware that this data will surprise you: the percentage of sperm in the semen of a healthy and fertile man is between 5 and 10%.

Semen is all that is ejaculated and in the ejaculate there are many more things than sperm. The rest are fluids necessary to lubricate the passage of sperm, protect them and give them the environment and capacities necessary for them to be fertile.

So if you look at the results they give you in the lab before the reproductive specialist sees them, don't be alarmed if you see low percentages! Let a doctor look at it and let him make the diagnosis.

Get the sample: simple and easy

As you have seen, collecting the seminal sample to have a seminogram done and evaluate your fertility is not complicated at all.

Yes, you will need to be calm, but if you have read the article, with all the information and even practicing at home, you will see that it is so simple that there is no reason to get tense.

If you do the obtaining in the laboratory and you don't know if you will be able to be relaxed enough for masturbation to be successful, talk to them, ask them to show you the collection room, and become familiar with the environment before the day of the appointment.

As a summary, this is what you should keep in mind:

  • Respect the abstinence that they indicate to you.
  • Use a sterile bottle with a wide mouth: a pharmacy one.
  • If you are going to get it at home, go to the lab in less than an hour.
  • Protect it from light and keep it at body temperature. Please note the room temperature, if it is very cold, please store it close to the body. 

And most importantly, ask all the questions you need. In the laboratory or in your breeding center they will help you without hesitation.

Most relevant data that you will obtain from the seminogram

Now you are clear about how the sample is obtained and processed, this whole process, wherever you do it, will give you very useful information about the percentage of motile spermatozoa in the ejaculate, how many of them have a normal shape as well as the number of spermatozoa per ejaculate, spermatozoa per milliliter, percentage of live spermatozoa and the presence of leukocytes.

All this according to the reference values ​​of the world health organization in which it is also dictated that the volume of the ejaculate should be greater than 1,5 ml, do not get overwhelmed if you think that there is little sample in the seminogram bottle, and that it is also very normal to have a high percentage of immotile spermatozoa or those with poor morphology according to the same who in a normozoospermia sample that would be considered normal within the male population.

These data will be basic study of the male in order to determine the semen quality and assess whether or not an assisted reproduction treatment is necessary, how the iInsemination or In Vitro Fertilization or if, on the contrary, there is no impediment on the part of the male for the sperm to reach the woman's uterine tubes with solvency.

Seminogram results

Apart from the basic seminogram results that we have mentioned, you should know that the waiting time to have the report can vary a lot from one laboratory to another or from one center to another. There are some centers that can give you a report the same day and others can take up to a week. In some they will give you a sa simple sheet with the written data and others a notebook with color graphics and a photo of your sperm, but don't let this fool you, whatever the report is, it will give the most relevant data of your sample and that is what is important.

We hope that with this post you will not have any doubts about how to do the seminogram. Keep in mind that this is the basic test and that there are many more, such as sperm fragmentation or FISH in sperm. Surely there is a team of specialists near you who will help you on your way to fertility and guide you in knowing which tests are the most appropriate to be able to enhance your fertility and be closer to pregnancy.

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