17 short facts about the SwimCount Sperm Quality Test

November 09, 2020

FACTS ABOUT THE SWIMCOUNT SPERM QUALITY TEST

The SwimCount Sperm Quality Test is an At-Home test and Pre-Screening Device that gives a valid result of a man’s fertility potential.
SwimCount provides the result of the single best predictor for male fertility e.g. the level of Progressive Motile Sperm Cells (PMSCs)/mL, which are the only sperm cells that can fertilize an egg in a natural way.
The SwimCount End-Consumer Recommended Selling Price (RSP incl. VAT but excl. transport) is €49,99 per test (single use).
Most other at-home tests available on the market (all over the world) are not, nor in no way, comparable to SwimCount, as these tests (often called Total Count Tests) ONLY provide a result for the TOTAL NUMBER of sperm cells (both non-motile, motile, and dead cells plus any other cells) available in the man’s sperm sample.
The RSP for these Total Count Tests varies from €15 to €45 per test.
In other words, by buying a SwimCount Test you obtain a QUALITY number, whereas buying a Total Count Test you only get a QUANTITY number.
When it comes to comparison of RSP levels for various at-home sperm tests, it is quite clear that QUALITY (SwimCount) cost more than just QUANTITY (most other Total Count Tests) – this is because the two types of tests are completely different.
SwimCount is based on the patented Swim-Up Technology, and has proven to be at 95 % accuracy level when compared to the WHO Gold Standard semen analysis in microscopy.
SwimCount is higher priced than Total Count Tests, but also offers a very valid and reliable result, whereas most other test are less expensive, but the result you get does not represent a parameter which will say much - if anything - about the male fertility potential.
In conclusion; by using most other tests, you could get a result which says you have a high total sperm count, but you also risk that all of the PMSCs (which a man needs to fertilize a woman’s egg) could very well be dead and thus with no chance of making a woman pregnant in a natural way.
Most of the Total Count Tests could be categorized as ‘very bad value for money[1]’ whereas buying SwimCount, on the contrary, could be denominated ‘extremely good value for money[2]’.
You can not compare an at-home sperm test with a clinical test, mostly because you can’t put a price on the intangible challenges of it being unpleasant to go to a clinic and deliver a sample in a not so homely environment.
If you do compare what a clinic look at, and what a home-test can tell, it is true that in a clinic a spermiogram in most cases would include the analysis of: 1) total mL of sperm sample; 2) total number of sperm cells; 3) number of PMSCs; 4) pH Value and 5) morphology.
It is, however, often information that the clinic will keep to itself, and thus the patient/man/couple would only get to know if the result shows whether the sperm quality is LOW or NORMAL.
For such clinical testing, the patient (depending on which country he is residing in) could end up paying maybe €10 to €150 per test, and he would also have to add all the tangible costs, such as a day off from work, transport time etc. etc., which could easily make the total cost even higher - this in addition to overcoming all the emotional barriers (most men do not want to go to a clinic!), stress and inconvenience related to taking a test in a clinic.
As stress is not at all a good factor when doing a sperm test, many clinics has begun to offer patients to take the test at home and then bring the sperm sample to the clinic within an hour, which again is more comfortable, but very inconvenient if you do not live very close to the clinic.
Therefore, SwimCount’s target group is those men, and couples, whom would like to take a pre-screening test in the comfort of their own home to find out his/their fertility potential.