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Ealing Hospital:
20 November 1999
At the last
TVCS meeting held at Baling Hospital on Saturday 20th November,
Mrs. Ann Atkinson from St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, spoke
to us on the subject of semen analysis. Ann runs a dedicated sub-fertility
laboratory.
The variations that currently exist between different laboratories
reporting semen results is alarming and quality control is often
poor. This is not acceptable for a test which can mean so much to
peoples lives.
It is also important to note that laboratory departments involved
in semen analysis now have to be participants in a recognised external
quality assessment scheme to obtain accreditation from CPA.
Her primary objective was to inform those at the meeting (and by
methods such as this article many more) about the UK NEQAS programme
for Andrology, her laboratory runs.
Participants receive four distributions a year for whichever scheme
they are on. There are currently three schemes:
Semen Analysis -measurement of sperm concentration and morphology
in four samples.
Sperm antibodies - detection of antibodies in four serum samples.
Sperm motility - Motility is assessed by means of a VHS video tape.
Ann also informed us of some important changes that have taken place.
The majority of labs undertaking semen analysis use the normal values
which are given in the WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination
of Human Semen and Sperm-Cervical Mucus Interaction (published by
the World Health Organisation). Recently a fourth 1999 edition with
a gold cover has been published. Significantly some things have
changed, most notably the normal limit for abnormal forms previously
40% is now 15%.
Ann must be thanked for giving up her Saturday and travelling all
the way down south to Ealing. It was definitely worth it and her
words have not fallen on deaf ears.
Enquiries about the scheme should be forwarded to:
Mrs Jean Dodd
Subfertility Laboratory
First Floor - Old Building
St. Mary's Hospital
Hathersage Rd
Manchester
M13 OJH te!0161 2766437
If in your hospital semen analysis is carried out in a department
other than Cytology please pass this article on to them.
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