Live Semen Transport Kit Information

Please read this page in full carefully!

THIS KIT CONTAINS

  1. Cardboard and styrofoam shipping container – DO NOT DISCARD!
  2. Plastic transport box with one Male-FactorPak semen collector (condom) and one plastic tube labeled “Condom Holder”.
  3. Ziploc bag with one bottle labeled “Specimen” containing yellow transport medium – Freeze this bottle in the Ziploc bag upon arrival.
  4. One sterile plastic transfer pipette for transferring the semen specimen.
  5. One sterile 4 oz. container.
  6. Ziploc bag containing two test consent forms (one copy for your records), a preaddressed envelope, a FedEx shipping label, and these instructions.

OVERVIEW

The purpose of this kit is to provide a semen specimen for live sperm evaluation.

COLLECTING THE SPECIMEN

Collect the specimen as close to shipping time as possible. The semen specimen must sit for 30 minutes after collection. Shipping preparation (see back for instructions) may take an additional 30 minutes. The semen specimen should arrive in our laboratory within 24 hours of collection.

SHIPPING

Return the semen sample in the shipping container using FedEx (1-800-GO-FEDEX) Priority Overnight (Next Business Morning) on either:

  • Monday evening to arrive Tuesday morning
  • Tuesday evening to arrive Wednesday morning
  • Wednesday evening to arrive Thursday morning

The kit meets USPS Regulations for shipping bodily fluids. The shipping container is considered to be “Non-hazardous”. There is no need to tell shippers what the package contains. If they ask, tell them it contains salt solutions.

RESULTS

You will be notified about your specimen by your doctor. Test results are not reported over the phone or by email.


INSTRUCTIONS

Collect the specimen close to the shipping time. The semen specimen must sit for 30 minutes after collection. Shipping preparation may take an additional 30 minutes.

  1. Remove the Ziploc bag labeled “Sperm Transport Medium” from the freezer. Remove the bottle labeled “Specimen” from the bag and let sit at room temperature until needed for Step 5 below.
  2. Open plastic transport Box 1 and place the empty plastic tube labeled “Condom Holder” upright in a secure area. This bottle will be used as a “stand” for the condom.
  3. Wash and rinse the penis with soap and plenty of water. Collect a semen specimen in the fertility condom (Male-FactorPak condoms – designed to keep sperm alive — regular condoms kill sperm). Label and save the Ziploc bag for Step 6 below. The semen specimen will contain more sperm if the specimen is collected at intercourse. Follow directions 1- 4 in the Male-FactorPak bag, this condom is specially designed for fertility preservation, and may be dry and slightly uncomfortable; if you wish you may inflate the condom like a balloon before use to stretch it out. 


    Alternatively, you may collect the specimen by masturbating into the 4 oz. cup instead of using the condom, although recovering all the semen from the cup is more difficult than from the condom.
  4. After ejaculation, remove the condom (if used), and holding the open end closed, place the bottom tip of the condom into the condom holder, folding the open end of the condom over the lip of the tube as you would fold the edge of an empty trash bag over a waste basket. Allow the semen specimen to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes either in the condom or in the specimen cup. Fill out the Consent for Semen Analysis.
  5. At the end of the 30 minute waiting period, open the bottle labeled “Specimen”. Using the sterile transfer pipette, draw up the semen from the condom or the specimen cup and transfer the semen specimen into the “Specimen” bottle which contains the yellow transport medium designed to keep sperm alive. Transfer as much specimen as possible and tightly replace the cap.
  6. Place the “Specimen” bottle into a Ziploc bag and place it inside the plastic transport Box 1. Close and label Box 1 with name and date.
  7. Return Box 1 and the Consent for Semen Analysis into the styrofoam shipping container, closing with the styrofoam lid.
  8. Seal the cardboard shipping container appropriately. Fill out the sender’s portion of the FedEx Airbill and check off FedEx Priority Overnight. Place the shipping label on the outside of the container. Call 1-800-GO-FEDEX to schedule a pick-up or drop off at a FedEx location.
  9. Email “SA-Kit@PVSA.org” with your name and tracking number of the package.