The science behind our
sperm testing and freezing
- Test your sperm health with a clinic-grade semen analysis from the comfort of your home
- Assess your sperm DNA damage for a comprehensive understanding of your sperm health
- Get personalized, evidence-based lifestyle recommendations to improve your parameters
- Freeze your sperm to protect its quality, indefinitely—without ever entering a lab
- Meet with a specialist virtually to answer any questions you have about your fertility
Why Legacy?
Clinic-grade semen analysis
A detailed picture of your fertility
FDA & CLIA certified laboratories
Designed for mail-in safety & convenience
Scientific standards for semen analysis
We compare your results against the World Health Organization laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen: 5th Edition’s evidence-based reference ranges for sperm count, sperm concentration, sperm motility (movement), and semen volume. We also analyze sperm morphology (shape) using Krüger’s strict criteria, an industry-standard methodology.
And you won’t just get the basic numbers. We’ll provide you with in-depth details about your sperm motility and morphology, which can help you and your doctor make decisions about potential next steps in your fertility care.
Chief Medical Officer
Will a semen analysis tell me if I’m infertile?
No semen analysis, even one as exact as Legacy’s, can tell you if you’re infertile (or not). That’s because fertility is complex. You’re not considered infertile unless you’ve actually tried, and been unable to, conceive a child.
What Legacy’s at-home sperm testing kit will tell you: your sperm health parameters (the five key factors of semen volume, sperm count, concentration, motility, and morphology) and where they fall on a range from below average to above average. While these numbers correlate with fertility outcomes—such as pregnancy rates, time to conception, and miscarriage rates—they’re just one piece of the reproduction puzzle.
Evidence-based recommendations
Your results will be accompanied by personalized lifestyle guidance to help you improve your sperm health parameters on your own. We’ll review your sleep habits, dietary patterns, exercise frequency and more to suggest specific changes, based on high-quality scientific evidence.
Precise sperm DNA analysis
Legacy’s labs use Halosperm® sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD), a well-established method of identifying sperm DNA fragmentation, or damage to the genetic material within your sperm. In this process, your semen sample is carefully denatured (broken down), removing the proteins from the sperm. Then, normal sperm can be identified by their glowing “halos,” formed by loops of DNA at the head of the sperm—not present in sperm with DNA damage.
Research demonstrates that SCD testing is as reliable and accurate as more expensive, complex methods of assessing sperm DNA integrity. The results of Halosperm’s SCD analysis have been shown to be predictive for success or failure with assisted reproductive technology.
State-of-the-art sperm freezing
Our labs use the slow freezing technique, the best method of cryopreservation for human spermatozoa. We take an additional step to ensure your freezing is a success: we thaw a small amount of your sample and re-analyze its motility to verify it has survived the freezing and thawing process. This is known as the “post-thaw analysis.”
Scientific research tells us that, once frozen, sperm can be stored indefinitely without a decrease in their ability to result in pregnancy. Freezing and thawing sperm is not associated with any increased risks for parents or children.
Multi-site storage to mitigate risk
Once frozen, your vials of sperm will be separated into two batches, then shipped separately to our cryogenic storage facility using a cryo-shipper with a 100% success rate. We’ll then store each of your batches in different tanks or locations, to safeguard against any potential (though extremely rare) accidents or failures. Your samples will be stored in liquid nitrogen tanks at a continuous -196ºC until you’re ready to use them.
