Lab launches Canada’s first mail-in semen analysis kit

A sperm is shown as it fertilizes an egg, leading to reproduction in the human body. (Sashkin/Shutterstock.com)

FlowLabs, an Ontario-based laboratory, has launched a “discreet, mail-in semen analysis kit” so men across Canada can access fertility care without a hitch — a service they claim is the first of its kind in the country.

Dr. Keith Jarvi, head of urology at Mount Sinai Hospital and director of the Murray Koffler Urologic Wellness Centre, told CTVNews.ca in an interview Wednesday that people in Ontario have faced issues with providing samples, having to travel long distances in order to do so.

“(A) semen test is essentially the core test that couples would do to start the investigation for the fertility, and fertility affects about 15 per cent of couples,” Jarvi said. “This is a really big issue.

“A lot of my patients are having difficulty finding a lab-quality semen test,” he added, saying it was crucial that the samples are analyzed as soon as possible after collection so that the test is accurate.

Jarvi says he was struggling to find ways to make it easier for his patients to get their semen analysis, but his lab’s engineers soon developed a mail-in kit that provide the same calibre of results as the tests done in their lab.

The FlowLabs mail-in semen analysis kit provides the patients with a measure of counts and motility of their sperm, as though it were conducted inside a lab, according to Jarvi.

Patients can mail in their specimen and have it delivered within two days, with the samples arriving at one of Flow Labs’ laboratories in Toronto or Oshawa, Ont.

“The result is faster access to testing, which means quicker results and fewer logistical barriers for patients and partners,” a press release by the laboratory said.

In addition to semen analysis, FlowLabs offers several types of fertility tests, including a DNA fragmentation test, a post-ejaculation urine test, an aneuploidy test and a post-vasectomy check.

Jarvi said the goal behind the development of this kit was to provide lab-quality testing for patients from the comfort of their own home, so they don’t have to travel long distances to the nearest labs.

“It’s also going to be a little bit easier for the labs to get the testing done,” he said. “This is trying to take the lab to the patients, as opposed to the patients to the lab.”

There are several challenges attached to the mail-in kits though, Jarvi added, the first being that patients must follow instructions to accurately collect their samples. He says there is always a small amount of risk attached to samples that are mailed in through the courier service.

“But it’s no riskier than some of the blood tests are now done at home and then mailed in,” he added.

Many people opt out of fertility tests because of how difficult it is to access, although semen analysis is almost entirely covered by public health care with a doctor’s requisition, he said.

“Delaying the investigations by any span of time could also reduce the eventual outcomes of the therapies,” Jarvi added, saying a delay of even six months could affect the chances of fertility of the female partner.

But with the help of this kit, Canadians can now navigate a system complicated by “geography and wait times,” he said in the news release.

“This solution empowers men and their partners to make early and informed decisions, whether that includes lifestyle adjustments, further diagnostics, or seeking specialist care,” FlowLabs added.