At Legacy, we know fertility is personal. And our clinical team is passionate about helping you build a family, as parents who also happen to be fertility experts. Keeping their fingers on the pulse of the latest in male fertility research, our clinical team ensures every semen analysis, sperm freezing product, and recommendation is backed by science and adequately tested. This provides a safer, smoother journey to parenthood and improved reproductive health.

Read on to learn more about our in-house healthcare specialists in urology and andrology, what you can expect from our clinic-grade semen analysis, and how we vet our partnered laboratories.

Key takeaways

• Legacy’s sperm testing and freezing products are backed by science and incredibly thorough to ensure your experience is parallel to what you’d get from a clinic. 
• Many at-home tests only provide you with limited data, like sperm count or concentration, but Legacy’s clinic-grade semen analysis tests five key metrics to assess sperm quality: volume, count, concentration, motility, and morphology.
• Legacy’s clinical team consists of trained male fertility experts, specializing in urology and andrology, who are also parents.
• Legacy’s laboratories and cryogenic storage sites have been thoroughly screened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure they adhere to all standards put forth in the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendment (CLIA).

Science-backed sperm testing and freezing

Legacy makes sperm testing and sperm freezing easy, but it doesn’t come at the cost of quality.  Our sperm testing and freezing products are backed by science and incredibly thorough to ensure your experience is parallel to what you’d get from a clinic without actually having to step foot in one. 

Along with a clinic-grade semen analysis, Legacy offers sperm freezing packages to protect your sperm’s quality, indefinitely. Special transport media allows you to provide your sample in the comfort and privacy of your home and send it directly to the lab, with overnight shipping. Your results will be ready in as little as a week, along with personalized, evidence-based lifestyle recommendations to improve your parameters. You can even schedule a virtual meeting with a specialist should you have any further questions about your fertility. 

Clinic-grade analyses

What makes our semen analysis clinic-grade and different from other at-home sperm tests? Many at-home tests only provide you with limited data, like sperm count or concentration. But Legacy’s clinic-grade semen analysis tests five key metrics to assess sperm quality: volume, count, concentration, motility (how your sperm move), and morphology (how your sperm are shaped). You also have the option to test for DNA fragmentation, which refers to the amount of abnormal genetic material within sperm. 

Despite being clinic-grade, Legacy’s semen analysis isn’t designed for doctors. You won’t need to sift through complex language or ask your doctor what your results mean — our semen analysis is straightforward and user-friendly. You’ll also be given a list of recommendations to improve your fertility and an option to freeze your sperm for as long as you desire. 

Our in-house healthcare experts

At Legacy, our in-house healthcare experts are parents and professionals, and their passion for fertility shows. Learn more about Legacy’s clinical team.  

Meet Dr. Ramy Abou Ghayda, Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Ramy Abou Ghayda is Legacy’s chief medical officer and a father of three. He oversees clinical research, telehealth offerings, and assesses the viability of new fertility products at Legacy. 

An experienced urologist and graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Ghayda has worked at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. He also works as an educator and currently teaches as an assistant professor at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Skilled in clinical research, epidemiology, and strategic planning, Dr. Ghayda is also a healthcare services professional with a master’s degree focused in hospital and healthcare facilities administration/management from ESA Business School.

Research associated with Dr. Ghayda: 

• Occupational factors and markers of testicular function among men attending a fertility center
• Impact of Antioxidant Therapy on Natural Pregnancy Outcomes and Semen Parameters in Infertile Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
• Is Reddit a reliable source for information on erectile dysfunction treatment?
• Testosterone deficiency in male organ transplant recipients
• Consent, Cryopreserved Sperm, and Posthumous Conception: Navigating the Ethical Maze

Meet Stephanie Sabourin, Senior Manager of Clinical Services

Stephane Sabourin is Legacy’s senior manager of clinical services and a mother of three. With over a decade of experience as a nurse, Sabourin is certified in andrology and specializes in men’s health and male infertility. 

At Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, she was instrumental in building the men’s health department, holding training programs for doctors and staff across the nation, and specialized in penile implant surgeries and erectile dysfunction. She has also served as Director of Nursing at Bridges by EPOCH, a facility for memory care assisted living.

Sabourin has been recognized by the Boston Globe for field excellence and by JetBlue as a “Healthcare Hero.” She is also a proud member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and an advisory member at the Southeastern Technical Institute, which educates healthcare and nursing leaders to address increasingly complex needs in their sectors.

In addition to her work as a male fertility expert, Sabourin is passionate about volunteer work. She is the past president and currently an active member of the charitable organization Easton Women of Today; she also participates regularly in the Power of the Quilt Project, which supports cancer patients. 

About Legacy’s FDA and CLIA-certified laboratories

Part of offering clinic-grade analyses is partnering with high-quality laboratories. Legacy’s laboratories and cryogenic storage sites have been thoroughly vetted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and adhere to all standards put forth in the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendment (CLIA). In addition, Legacy’s semen analysis meets all the scientific standards required by the World Health Organization (WHO). All testing is performed by experienced scientists and all results are reviewed by our medical staff.

Our labs also use the slow-freezing technique — the best method of cryopreservation for human sperm. To ensure the sperm you’re freezing is healthy and viable, our lab technicians take an added step of thawing a small amount of your sample and re-analyzing its motility to verify it has survived the freezing and thawing process. This is known as the post-thaw analysis, and Legacy’s at-home sperm freezing kit is the only one of its kind to provide this.

Evidence-based recommendations

Accompanying the results of your semen analysis are evidence-based recommendations that take your personal lifestyle into consideration. Our in-depth assessment will have examined nearly a hundred factors, which may be impacting sperm health, including sleep habits, dietary patterns, and exercise frequency. Based on your responses, your semen analysis results, and a specialist’s inspection, our sophisticated algorithm will be able to give you a comprehensive understanding of your fertility and an actionable plan to improve your health.

Learn more about Legacy’s at-home sperm testing and sperm freezing kits and get to know the rest of our team.