快猫短视频

A 鈥淗IS AND HERS鈥� home fertility test is due to go on sale next year. But many
fertility experts fear it will do more harm than good.

鈥淭he current screen for infertility is to try for 12 months and then seek
medical advice,鈥� says Christopher Barratt of Birmingham University, who helped
Genosis of London develop the 鈥淔ertell鈥� test. 鈥淭his test can indicate early on
if there is a problem.鈥�

Barratt says the male part of the test will pick up the vast majority of
problems. Sperm have to swim through a column of artificial cervical mucus.
Those that make it through are tagged using antibodies. If the number making it
is high enough to be considered normal, a red line appears. The female part is a
urine test that measures a key hormone associated with fertility.

But Simon Fishel of the Park Hospital in Nottingham says the test is a
gimmick. 鈥淭here are lots of variables that need to be considered when looking at
an infertile couple,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it offers much in the way of
self-help. It would probably create more anxiety.鈥�

Geoffrey Trew of the IVF unit at Hammersmith Hospital in London agrees. 鈥淭he
biggest problem with all home test kits is reliability,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 false
鈥榥ormal鈥� result could artificially reassure people and delay their getting
help.鈥� But Barratt, who presented his results at a conference in Switzerland
this week, defends the test. 鈥淥ne-third of male patients attending our clinic
don鈥檛 turn up for semen analysis because of embarrassment,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his will
allow them to do it in the comfort of their own home.鈥�