Need help understanding DH's sperm analysis test results

[LittleRedRobin]

DH's sperm analysis test results are back, and we don't know what they mean. His GP couldn't explain them to him either. He has been told he has to repeat the test but I would be grateful if anyone here could give us insight into what they mean. I'm feeling very worried.

The comments are:

"Low fast progressive motility"

The full breakdown is as follows:

Appearance: Abnormal
Liquification: Normal
Consistency: Normal
Volume 2-10ml: 3.8ml
Motility Class A 25-100%: 20
Motility Class B: 20
Motility Class C: 7
Motility Class D: 53
Overall Motility: 47
Prog. Motility: 50-100%: 40
Agglutination: 0
Sperm Concentration 20-500M/ml: 115
Total sperm count 40-5000 Million: 437
Total Motile (Millions): 205
Normal Morphology 15-100%: 14
Head defects %: 48
Midpiece defects%: 57
Tail defects %: 9
Cytoplasmic droplets %: 3
TZI 0-1.6: 1.34
Round cells 0-5 M/ml:

www.umc.sunysb.edu/urology/male_infertility/SEMEN_ANALYSIS.html

Thanks for the link one. Some of the criteria used on the site are different to the results used so I'm still in the dark about some aspects, can't properly compare, but it has helped a bit.

I read somewhere recently on MN that WHO had brought out new data for semen analysis but I can't for the life of me find it now or on Google...?

The reference ranges for DH's results are WHO 1999 and I'm wondering what the latest ranges area?

Does anyone have a ready link?

try this here it mentions WHO

That's interesting, thanks v much. I it is also suspect based on the 1999 WHO ranges, but I see it mentions medication impacts.....? DH is asthmatic; could his faily use of inhalers impact on his sperm results?

Hi there, your results look ok to me? My DH was told he was borderline/just below but that he was ok and was not asked to do another test. We are discussing this on the bad morphology thread.

DH seems to have different categories to yours but from top of my head his were

Anatomy 14
Motility 48%
Sperm Vitality 48%
Concentration per ml 26 million
Total Active sperm approx 37 million
Volume 3.5ml

He has a count way above my DH and more motile sperm so I don't think there is too much to be worried about.

Hi pointsmakeprizes. Thanks for that. I've just found the bad morphology thread and with it the updated WHO stats which seem to indicate my DH is normal. (I'm brainfuddled with distress and post-election lack of sleep so lousy on searches today) ... I feel like I'm reeling from body-blow to body-blow so positive stuff is good to know.

As for the WHO 2009 stuff - I KNEW I'd read it somewhere! Link to bad morphology thread here, and I'm copying and pasting some of the WHO 2009 figures from the thread below:

"
Volume: 1.5 ml or more
pH: 7.2 - 8.0
Total Motility: 40% or more
Progressive: 32% or more
Vitality(%live) 58% or more
Antisperm Antibodies IgA: less than 10
IgG: Less than 10
Count per ml: 15 million or more
Total Count in ejaculate: 39 million or more
Other Cells - Round cells: less than 5
Polymorphonuclear leucocytes: less than 1
Morphology: Kruger Strict Criteria: 4 or more
Teratozoospermia Index: 1.6 or less

They've lowered the count per ml, motility and morphology. "

your DH results look really good according to the new guidelines, I don't see anything to worry about, DH would be thrilled if he had got those results!

It's quite depressing really though that they have to keep lowering the parameters every few years as sperm quality is going down, what's considered normal would have been thought of as really poor 30 or 40 years ago.

Is it because sperm quality is going down or because research on the topic is improving? I was hoping the latter