How come the quality of my semen analysis is so different between laboratories?
A. The quality of a semen analysis is very highly dependent on the processing technique. Method of collection, time of specimen drop off, temperature of the specimen in the laboratory, pippeting technique, and counting system all can introduce error into the results. Daily controls by the lab is very important to standardize the process of semen analysis. It is hard to compare semen analysis between two laboratories unless both labs follow the recommended processing technique.
