Evaluation of a container for collection and shipment of semen with potential uses in population-based, clinical, and occupational settings

Large, population-based studies of semen quality are encumbered by the logi stics and expense of obtaining semen samples from men who live in a variety of locations. A prototype semen collection and transportation kit, the TRA NSEM100(TM), can be distributed to study participants and then directly shi pped to a central laboratory for analysis. This study was designed to evalu ate the ability of mate volunteers to correctly use the kit. Thirty volunte ers aged 20 to 44 years with no history of diabetes, recent chemotherapy, f ertility problems, or vasectomy were recruited through a newspaper advertis ement, interviewed to obtain demographic information, and instructed on the use of the kit. Twenty-six of the initial subjects provided at least 1 sem en specimen using the kit and returned the specimens by overnight delivery to the laboratory for analysis, 25 completed a follow-up interview on the u se of the collection kit, and 20 submitted a second semen sample using the same method. The average volunteer was white, 27.8 years old, and held at l east a college degree. Forty percent of the volunteers were married. In gen eral, participants correctly followed the instructions for collecting, pack aging, and shipping the semen samples. Volunteers were instructed to collec t samples after at least 2, but no more than 7 days of abstinence. For the first and second samples submitted, participants collected semen samples af ter an average of 3.3 and 3.9 days of abstinence, respectively. Seventeen ( 65%) of the samples from the first sampling period and 16 (80%) of the samp les from the second period were received in the laboratory the day after th ey had been collected. In summary, the TRANSEM100(TM) may prove to be usefu l for collecting human semen in field studies. Further testing of this meth od is warranted to evaluate preservation of sample quality and use of the k it by men among diverse socioeconomic groups.