Male Fertility Diagnostic Testing & Consultations
Nearly 15% of couples are infertile This means they haven鈥檛 gotten pregnant after trying without protection for at least a year. But infertility is not just a women鈥檚 issue. Men and women can have problems that affect fertility. In fact,鈥men can be the cause of infertility鈥in up to 50% of cases.
For men facing fertility problems, one of the biggest challenges can be opening up and talking about the issue. The good news is that we can help most couples with fertility problems conceive. We have the only fellowship-trained andrologists in Utah (specialists in male infertility). Our specialists also participate in leading-edge fertility research. We bring the latest research findings directly to your care.
What to Expect at Your Male Infertility Evaluation
Appointment Preparation
Before your visit with our specialist, our staff will give you a short prep appointment. 鈥This appointment takes place over the phone. Your prep appointment will last roughly 30 minutes. Your appointment with the male fertility specialist will most likely be in person and will take up to 60 minutes.
Follow a steps before your appointments:
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, the online portal to your medical record.
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Complete fertility questionnaires assigned in MyChart.
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Complete two semen analyses.
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Complete necessary hormone blood tests before 10:30 am.
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Bring any medical records of previous fertility evaluations and treatments to your appointment.
Semen Analysis
You will need at least one semen analysis (ideally two) before your appointment. When providing the sample for a semen analysis, it is important that you do not ejaculate 2鈥3 days before your analysis. If we are ordering your semen analyses, we will provide detailed instructions about sample collection.
鈥Read more about semen analyses.
Sample collection instructions
Blood Work/Endocrine Profile
For your blood work, we will need to perform six labs (only one blood draw). Your blood will need to be drawn before 10:30 am in order to be accurate. You can get your blood drawn at our andrology laboratory or at another lab that鈥檚 convenient for you. We鈥檙e happy to provide orders for this blood work.
Your labs will look for several things:
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Bio available testosterone
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Follicular stimulating hormone,
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Luteinizing hormone
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Prolactin
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Albumin
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Estradiol
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Hematocrit
Your Specialist Consultation
Once the prep work has been done, you will meet with a specialist. Your specialist will perform a physical exam and review both your semen analyses and endocrine results. They will also review male infertility risk factors. Together, you and your specialist will discuss lifestyle changes, medications, and treatment options.
If necessary, you may discuss surgery options to increase the chances of pregnancy.
The vast majority of men do NOT have a serious health condition that's causing their infertility. Andrology doctors treat male fertility problems. But we often ask questions about your partner and if they've seen a female fertility specialist.
We ask this information only so that we can better understand your reproductive goals as a couple. If you are worried that your female partner may have fertility problems, we will refer you to another doctor within the Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine.
We will send results from your appointment and tests to your referring urologist, reproductive endocrinologist, or primary care physician.鈥
It may take us a couple of visits to narrow down what your potential issue is and to propose a plan of care, but by your visit with our specialist, we often have a path forward.
鈥*Note:鈥All services must be paid for in full at the time they are provided. We will ask for a copy of your photo ID to verify your information. A technician will review sample collection procedures, study patient consents, and long-term storage agreements as needed.
