Vast Majority (87%) of men don’t understand fertility health & unaware of impact of unhealthy lifestyle choices
New Healthtech start-up, Jack Fertility, will be launching the first UK postal male fertility test in 2023, providing men with a convenient way to collect a sperm sample home and send it to a lab for testing, avoiding the need for awkward, inconvenient in-person clinic appointments. The innovative offering comes as a new survey* shows the vast majority of men (87%) admit they have little or no understanding of their fertility health.
The results also highlighted that only 16% of men believe that living a healthy lifestyle and removing bad habits such as smoking, drinking and spending too much time being sedentary will improve or reverse fertility issues. Fertility health is aligned with overall health and often low sperm counts, erectile dysfunction or other fertility problems come from underlying issues and can be reversed by leading a healthier lifestyle.
Understanding Male Fertility and regular testing is set to become much more of a necessity as new data** has highlighted a concerning trend as sperm counts and concentration are not only down all over the world, but the decline is accelerating. Counts dropped by 1.2% per year from 1973 – 2000 but from 2000 to 2018, the decline was 2.6% per year. As this trend increases, so are expected male fertility issues with millions more likely to have problems trying to conceive than previous generations.
The new test from Jack Fertility is set to change how men access fertility testing thanks to a unique preservation solution, meaning patients can get a fast and comprehensive semen analysis from anywhere in the UK. The easy-to-use test kit will be available to order online and discreetly dispatch, allowing customers to take a fertility test without needing a GP referral or a visit to a clinic. Test results are delivered straight to customers’ smartphones and can help determine if they have a fertility issue that needs to be addressed.
Lily Elsner, CEO of Jack Fertility, commented, “It is concerning to see how few men are on top of their fertility health, but more concerning is the lack of understanding about male fertility which I believe stems from it still being perceived as a taboo subject by so many.
The team at Jack Fertility has been working hard for the last year to develop a unique, consumer-centric solution and empower people with sperm across the UK with a chance to take control of their fertility journeys from the comfort of their own home. It is so important to remove any barriers for couples trying to conceive and for so many men having to go to a clinic to take a test was a reason to avoid getting tested. We strive to make sperm testing as easy as possible by offering our discreet postal service.”
