Home Sperm-Count Tests

It was only a matter of time before some crafty entrepreneur brought a home sperm test kit to market! In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration approved a male fertility test that helps men determine whether or not their sperm concentrations meet (or exceed) the 20 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate—a figure the World Health Organization uses as the definition of male fertility.

The test has proven to be about 87 percent reliable compared to lab tests, but it is not without its critics—most of whom point out that the test can only measure one aspect of male fertility. Although it can measure sperm counts, the test can't provide information about any of the other factors that can affect male fertility: pH and white blood cell counts, speed and motility, and the size and shape of the sperm. The test also isn't the cheapest thing in the world—for the same amount of money one would pay for the test, he could have a basic semen analysis done at his doctor's office.