Fertility Test in Comfort of Your Own Home

New fertility test allows couples to see if they could have any problem conceiving in the privacy of their own home, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The new test is called Fertell and it can help avoid those embarrassing trips to the fertility clinic. The couple involved can find out the news about their ability to conceive in a comfortable private setting, just the two of them.

The fertility testing kit is available for both men and women and it is the first kit of its kind that caters to both sexes.

According to Dr. Richard Paulson from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine one of the biggest problems getting tested for fertility, is men. Men are often very reluctant to visit a fertility clinic where they have to produce a sperm sample in a doctor's office. Now men can take a test at home.

Though the fertility testing kit is new in the United States it has been on the scene for a year and half in the UK. The fertility test's US supplier is Genosis Inc. The company first brought the kit to the US in May of this year.

According to Robert Thompson, Genosis Inc's president the fertility kit has been a success so far in the US. Thompson told the Los Angeles Times, "We had expected sales to be 90 percent women, but it's running almost 50 percent men.

The home fertility test has been selling in pharmacies for around $100 dollars, which cost lest then getting tested at a clinic. Interested couples can also purchase the product online giving them even more privacy in such a personal matter.

The home fertility test has two parts one is for women and the other for men. The men's test is for checking sperm numbers while the women's test checks hormone levels.

The women's test is just like using a pregnancy test with a simple urine stick. The men's test involves a container that holds the sperm sample for thirty minutes. Then after thirty minutes the sperm is moved into a solution that is supposed to be similar to the fluid found in the cervix. The test then measures the amount of sperm that manage to swim through the fluid.

Even though the home fertility test kit will provide a more comfortable environment for couples wishing to conceive a baby it is import to point out that the test is not 100 percent and should only be used as a start to the fertility process. If couple find anything is not what it should be they should visit their doctor.

There have also been some concerns expressed about the test. The Center for Male Reproductive Medicine in Los Angeles', Dr. Philip Werthman told the Los Angeles Times, "It's beneficial is someone has a problem, and the test picks up the problem early." However Dr. Werthman feels that the test could be misleading couples with a normal result. He says that just because a person's results don't indicate that there is a problem doesn't mean that there isn't one. The test does not check up on the other possible reasons a couple may have in conceiving.

Sources

Los Angeles Times report on home fertility test
http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-healthfertility.artjun26,0,333903.story?coll=hc-headlines-health

NBC News clip about the home fertility test
http://www.nbc10.com/health/13462729/detail.html