Male (In)Fertility

The standard misconception is that fertility is largely a woman’s issue. Realistically, it is an issue that affects both men and women. Infertility affects approx. 1 in 7 heterosexual couples in the UK. In a study carried out by Newcastle University in 2022, an estimated 7% of men are infertile and 50% of fertility problems between couples are due to the male factor. Around half of infertility cases are for reasons unknown.

I caught up with Lily Elsner at Jack Fertility who provided some helpful insight as to the factors that affect male fertility and what men can do to take control of their fertility.

Jack Fertility are a start-up company in the health and tech world who are looking to change perceptions about fertility and address the imbalance in male fertility testing and the support available to men. They examined the suboptimal patient experience including an in-person sample creation, which most people with sperm find to be an awkward, embarrassing, emasculating experience.

Using the expertise of their Oxford based team, they are developing the UK’s first postal sperm test kit, offering fertility clinic-grade semen analysis results without needing to set foot in a clinic. Upon receipt of a posted sample, their Oxford lab will securely digitally send traffic-light style results, recommendations, and next steps. Jack Fertility’s mission is to remove all barriers to men’s reproductive health, making it as easy as possible to assess male fertility.

While women have various fertility tests open to them, Lily found that there was a gap in the market in this area. She discovered, perhaps unsurprisingly, that men avoid talking about the subject and that they appear uncomfortable and awkward simply broaching the topic and that it makes them feel embarrassed and therefore fearful of testing.

The factors that affect male fertility can be broadly categorised into three main groups. They are lifestyle choice, medical conditions and environmental. These are further broken down into specific components which have been set out below.

Factors that affect male fertility:

·???????Lifestyle choices – sleep, diet, exercise, stress, weight, alcohol usage all impact sperm health

·???????Medical conditions – infection (sexually transmitted disease), Variocele – swelling of the veins that causes abnormal blood flow, ejaculation problems, anti-sperm antibodies, tumors/cancer including cancer treatment, hormonal imbalances, tubal defects/undescended testes, chromosomal defects

·???????Environmental – industrial chemicals, heavy metals, overheating of testicles.

What can I do about my own fertility?

Without stating the obvious, get yourself tested. Sperm count and concentration is a global issue which affects a lot of men. Jack Fertility are set to launch at the end of 2023 a postal home testing kit. All you will have to do is provide a sperm sample and pop in the post so that it can be sent to their lab for testing. It is easy to use and can be ordered online with the results being delivered straight to their phone. If the test does flag something up, Jack Fertility will assist in connecting you to the right point of support. It is not a case of simply giving you the results and providing no follow up.

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