World J Mens Health.
2022 Jan;40(1):52-65. 10.5534/wjmh.210022.
Standardized Laboratory Procedures, Quality Control and Quality Assurance Are Key Requirements for Accurate Semen Analysis in the Evaluation of Infertile Male
- Agarwal A
1 - Sharma R1
- Gupta S1
- Finelli R1
- Parekh N1
- Selvam MKP1,2
- Pompeu CP3
- Madani S4
- Belo A5
- Darbandi M6
- Singh N7
- Darbandi S6
- Covarrubias S1
- Sadeghi R1
- Arafa M1,8,9
- Majzoub A1,8,9
- Caraballo M1
- Giroski A1
- McNulty K1
- Durairajanayagam D10
- Henkel R1,11,12
- Affiliations
-
- 1American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
- 2Department of Urology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA
- 3Instituto Ideia Fértil, Santo André, Brazil
- 4Department of Biology and Physiology of Organisms, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Science and Technnology, Houari Boumedien, Algiers, Algeria
- 5Huntington Centro de Medicina Reproditiva S/A, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- 6Fetal Health Research Center. Hope Generation Foundation, Tehran, Iran
- 7NOVA IVF, Gorakhpur, India
- 8Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- 9Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar
- 10Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia
- 11Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, UK
- 12Department of Medical Bioscience, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa
- KMID: 2523636
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.210022
Abstract
- Semen analysis is a basic test for evaluating male fertility potential, as it plays an essential role in driving the future management and treatment of infertility in couples. Manual semen analysis includes the evaluation of both macroscopic and microscopic parameters, whereas automated semen analysis is conducted through a computer-aided sperm analysis system and can include additional parameters that are not evaluated by manual analysis. Both quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) are important to ensure reproducible results for semen analysis, and represent fundamental checks and balances of all stages (pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical) of semen analysis. To ensure accuracy and precision, the laboratory technicians’ performance should be evaluated biannually. This narrative review aims to describe standardized laboratory procedures for an accurate assessment of semen parameters that incorporate both QC and QA practices.
