Semen Analysis

What does a semen analysis measure?

A semen analysis measures key characteristics of your semen to tell you whether they’re in the normal range for fertile men:

• Volume: semen volume should be 1.5-7.6ml or more
• Total sperm count: normal values are ≥39 million
• Sperm count per ml: normal values are ≥15 million
• Total Motility: this is the number of moving sperm in the ejaculate. A normal value is ≥42%
• Progressive Motility: this is the percentage of sperm making forward progress. A normal value is ≥30%
• Morphology: this refers to the size and shape of sperm. Healthy semen should contain more than 4% sperm with normal morphology

What to do after semen analysis?

Men produce new sperm every 3 months. If your semen analysis results are below the fertile range, simple lifestyle changes such as improving your diet or cutting down your alcohol intake for a short time can improve your sperm quality.

Find out some of the simple lifestyle changes you can make here.

Remember, semen analysis alone does not provide the full answer: in about 25% of men with healthy semen analysis results still experience fertility issues.

Our Exact tests measure your sperm DNA quality. This is also really important as it is your sperm DNA that will give you a healthy child. Examen’s fertility experts recommend taking both semen analysis and sperm DNA testing to provide a full picture of your fertility, to guide you to the best path to having your family.

Semen Analysis at Examen (Belfast)

Please note that a semen analysis is run from our facilities in Belfast.

This service is available for men across Ireland. Facilities are available for men to produce their samples onsite. If producing your sample at home, you must be able to drop off the sample to our Belfast site no more than 1 hour from production.

The sample will then be analysed by certified practitioners in our lab, and results will be provided directly to your inbox using secure transfer.