Home Sperm Testing!

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We’re on a mission to get more guys speaking up about their own fertility. With a view to getting more men testing themselves either in a clinic or at home to understand more about their own health. Infertility is not a Women’s disease. With 1:6 couples struggling with their fertility, those that have unsuccessful treatment translates to as much as 40% being male factor. For decades, it was unfairly thought that women were the root cause of infertility.

I was shocked to see some of the stats around suicidal thoughts impacting men, who were struggling with their own Fertility status. One in Five infertile men have considered suicide. We can’t allow this to happen any longer. Greater support is needed, and we need to ensure men have better access to treatment.

As you will have seen from our previous efforts, Infertility is no joke either. I’m passionate about bring this topic to the forefront too, the Ferring Pharmaceuticals #FertilityAwks campaign was one of my most proudest moments on this journey, and as a Fertility Blogger. Telling our own Fertility story to educate and to normalise modern families was super important to me. Mainly due to me representing the communities I belong to which are; the LGBTQ TTC (trying to conceive) community and being a man. Getting more men seeing this content is key.

‘Your masculinity is not defined by your fertility.’

We need to remove the stigma and share our own findings about fertility. Men need to discuss their Fertility, which is why we love the home sperm testing kit from ExSeed.

TwoDads UK NEW Partnership

Having launched in January 2019, ExSeed aims to become the leading home fertility test and app. ExSeed is available on iOS and Android phones. This can be purchased directly from their website and selected partners. TwoDads UK is proudly now one, offering you a 10% discount on the website price. Simply use our code ‘twodads10’.

We began working with the team in August with the objective that equality needs to reach every corner of our society; even fertility and infertility support. Gay Men aren’t immune to infertility. If anything we’ve probably been a little ignorant to it – we need to empower more from the LGBTQ community, and this is a perfect way to achieve this.

The Test

With ExSeed home sperm test, it provides you with an incredible, slick platform. Once you download the app, scan the QR code on the box and the rest is straightforward. I loved the how user-friendly, and just how simple it was to use. ExSeed aims to empower, educate, and inform the user from the privacy of your own home, or bedroom in my case.

This certified Medical Device is definitely rising to the occasion when compared to other methods to assess your fertility too. Boasting that this test will assess your Total Motile Sperm Count (TSMC) by measuring your volume, sperm count, and sperm motility as accurately as most fertility clinics. Such a comprehensive home test simply doesn’t exist elsewhere, which was one of the attractions drawing us to this forward thinking, fertility tech savy organisation.  Furthermore, the ExSeed app will further guide and advise you with all the latest scientifically backed articles you need for semen quality improvement. There’s even a fabulous store with supplements to help you on your way too, depending on your results.

Abstinence

‘Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstinence from alcohol, drugs, or food’

Google

I certainly didn’t need to quit the chocolate or beer for the test, (although my results may tell me otherwise) it was referring to abstinence of the ‘other’ kind, so here goes…

Having had several rounds of treatment and being a sperm donor, I’m no stranger to this kind of abstinence, most clinics would say three to five days is the aim. I managed five days (which I was very proud of myself for managing!) for the purpose of this test. Wes also managed to abstain for the same period. Which gives us a good base to compare our results, he’s also older than me by 27 months.

We both tested on the same Saturday morning, it was a dull and drizzly day – there wasn’t much else fun to do, so the test kit was all set up – and off we raced! Once we produced our sample, this was put into the small plastic collection cup. The app then prompted us to set the timer for 15 mins, to let the sample settle. Next you twist the lid five times, which mixes the sperm and draws up into the small pipette.

Next you add small drops to the glass sample slide, watching it draw inside under the glass. Then you insert the glass into the Device, which starts up the powerful light and microscope. I lined up my iPhone on top of the lights as directed to ensure my iPhone screen displayed four cone shaped lights, and watch the magic happen.

‘I was amazed! For the first time in my 41 years I could actually see with my naked eye, my sperm swimming on my phone screen. It totally blew me away’.

The Results

Once the devise analysed my sample, my results they were delivered to me, well under 60 seconds.

I assumed that having conceived Talulah via IVF that there wouldn’t be an issue, my sperm tests from 2015 told me I had good Sperm Concentration (the volume of sperm per ml) and good motility (how good it swims).

This time, my sample overall was Optimal. The sample volume was Optimal – just over 4ml as was my Concentration with 204.8m sperm / ml. However, I had 121 million motile sperm. My Motility was classed as Low given the volume I produced. Only 14.8% of the 204.8m/ml moved, which is low.

So, join me on the 18th November over on our Instagram Live, as I chat to ExSeed, this time to Dr Fatin Willendrup MD, Head of Medical Affairs about my results and how they translate. We’ll also be comparing Wes’ test to mine. Asking the important question, what next?