Infertility in Men: First Home Sperm Test Kit for Sperm Count, Quality Goes on Sale - Is Device a Scam?

An IVF Danish company has released the world's first complete home sperm test kit. It's supposed to check for both semen count and quality, thus eliminating the need for going to the fertility clinic.

Daily Mail reported that the company, Motility Count, claims their new test kit is different from existing home sperm test kits because those only check for sperm count that doesn't ensure the semen's fertility. Its device, known as the SwimCount, also checks for sperm quality, which should be more accurate in telling the men they have good swimmers.

Mirror reported that Motility Count developed the product with JRBiomedical Ltd. in North Wales. "In November 2014 I became aware that there was a Danish biotech working on a new type of male fertility home test that would be complete in 2015," said JRBiomedical Managing Director Dr. John Reese.

The companies then had the test kits registered as a medical device, which has been launched via the SwimCount site. So far, this is only place where the product can be legitimately sourced, but Reese stated that it will hit drugstores or pharmacies later this year.

"The key benefit of SwimCount compared to other tests is that it provides a measure of motile sperm (good swimmers) rather than just a sperm count which can overestimate a man's fertility and provide a false sense of reassurance that all is OK," Reese added.

Meanwhile, some consumers are wary of using home kits as opposed to getting tested at fertility clinics.

"I really don't trust these 'home kits'. If something is as important as this then get it done properly. This way you will know that everything is done right," one commenter said via Daily Mail.

"It seems like this company is trying to scam the elderly. Don't fall victim to another scam targeted at older people, guys," another commenter chimed in.

"Any data on how accurate this is? I think most men will still prefer that the test is conducted by professionals," a commenter from Singapore said.

SwimCount kits cost €49.99 and comes with a cup and a syringe. After a man collects sperm samples without using condoms or lubricants, he places this in the cup for 30 minutes. Then using the syringe, he should stir the contents of the cup and draw out 0.5ml to drop into the test device. After another 30 minutes, his test results will appear as the device's indicator changes its color.

The full instructions to using SwimCount is in the video below: