Fertile men are needed to participate in a large study of male fertility and infertility. The study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), will be conducted in various locations of the U.S., at the member institutions of the National Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network. Fertile men are needed to participate in a large study of male fertility and infertility.
Aside from the complete absence of sperm, there is no definite way to tell if a male will prove fertile or not, explained Donna Vogel, PhD, a project officer in NICHD's Reproductive Sciences Branch. Currently, the normal values for such common tests as sperm count and motility (sperm movement) have not been based on rigorous scientific studies.
"There is still no real definition of a normal semen analysis," Dr. Vogel said. "The goal of this trial is to get reliable threshold values for these tests, which can be used to distinguish potentially fertile men from those with infertility."
The Network is seeking men from age 20 to 55 whose partner is currently pregnant or has delivered within the last two years. Not eligible for the study are men who have had a history of infertility or who have been treated for the condition--or whose partners have a history of infertility or have been treated for the condition. Also not eligible for participation are men who have had a vasectomy reversal or a surgical correction of a varicocele (an enlargement of the veins that return blood from the testes and scrotum). Volunteers will be asked to provide two semen samples for analysis.
To learn if they are eligible to participate in the trial, prospective volunteers who live near a study site may telephone one of the following reproductive medicine units:
The Permanente Medical Group
Santa Clara, California
Marion Columbo RNP
408-236-6912
University of California at Davis
Davis, California
Rena Covell RN, NP
916-752-3863
Magee-Womens Hospital
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Melinda Everson RN, MPH
412-641-1175
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Suzi Lindsay RN
713-798-7549
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
Germaine Santoriello RN
716-442-5104
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Janet Stansberry RNC, MSN
215-662-2935
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Kathleen Walsh RN, BSN
617-732-4232 or 732-5500 (ext 3746)
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Velria Willis RN BSN
205-801-8225
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