O-040 The evolution of WHO Manual. Where are we now?

Abstract textMale factor infertility is associated with impaired overall health, decreased life expectancy, lower quality of life and may affect reproductive outcomes even under assisted reproductive technology (ART) settings. Male factors, alone or combined with female factors, contribute to at least 50% of reported infertility cases. Despite this, the male partner is often overlooked in the evaluation and treatment of infertility. A routine semen analysis is frequently the only test carried out to assess a man ’s fertility potential.The state-of-art on how the human semen should be assessed is provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), which periodically releases manuals that include specific protocols and reference standards. These manuals include detailed laboratory methods for semen examination , protocols for sperm preparation and cryopreservation, quality assurance and quality control, results’ interpretation, and reference ranges. Unlike the previous four versions, the latest 2010 WHO reference values relied on clinical chemistry principles to generate 95% intervals for sperm volume, count, motility, vitality, and morphology from recent fathers. The fifth centile was deemed suitable for representing semen characteristics at lower limits. The reference values ultimately obtained were markedly lower than those previously reported, raising concerns about its clinical utility and ge neralizability. Criticisms included the limited geographical area of patients an...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research