Ideally semen samples should be produced on-site at TDL’s Patient Reception at 76 Wimpole Street, London.

Ideally patients must abstain from ejaculation for 2-3 days prior to the test, generally no less than 2 days and no longer than 7 days before the test is acceptable. This requirement is important for semen analyses and post vasectomy analyses to ensure reliability of results. It is possible that samples that do not comply with guidelines for abstinence and collection may not be able to be processed. For other semen tests like ROS and DNA fragmentation the abstinence period is minimum 2 days but no more than 3 days. All semen samples must be produced directly into the sterile containers provided by The Doctors Laboratory.

All containers are weighed and batch tested for sperm cytotoxicity. In exceptional circumstances when semen samples are produced off-site, they can only be accepted by the Andrology Department in sample containers provided by TDL.

TDL Andrology provides reference values to those given in the most recent WHO guidelines (2021). WHO 2021 guidelines state that two semen analyses should be performed before any diagnosis is confirmed. This may require requests for two (separate) semen analyses.

Download: Semen sample collection instructions