How Digital Care Models Can Bring Male Fertility Testing Earlier Into Fertility Care

By Paul Jurgensen, CEO and Co-Founder of Mate Health

Medically reviewed by Dr. Tashera Perry, MD, FACOG – Board Certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist

Why Male Fertility Testing Needs to Happen Earlier

Male factors contribute to roughly half of all infertility cases. That number is not new, and clinicians have known it for years. And yet, the infrastructure and processes available for testing men have not evolved. Fertility evaluation still typically begins with the female partner: hormonal panels, cycle review, specialist consultations. The male partner’s fertility may not be evaluated until months into that process, sometimes after significant emotional and financial investment in interventions that an earlier male clinical picture might have redirected.

Workflow Barriers Delay Male Fertility Evaluation

This is not a failure of physician insight. It’s created by a series of logistical issues and workflow barriers.

Traditional male fertility testing involves challenges for both providers and patients. Providers must identify andrology labs, coordinate specialist referrals, and schedule in-clinic collection appointments. For many men, the stigma and experience of in-office specimen collection can significantly delay testing. In geographical areas with limited access to specialized laboratories, including many fertility deserts across the U.S., those barriers compound further. The result is delayed testing at exactly the moment when couples would benefit from more clarity.

When men try at-home collection and then must rush the sample to a lab within the WHO-recommended 30- to 60-minute window, it is easy to miss that timeline. Just think about the last time you tried to find parking at a hospital. Those are defeating logistics. If you miss the timeline, testing can be canceled or may report lower motility results, not necessarily because of the patient’s fertility, but because the logistics are not easy to navigate.

This happened to me. I missed the window, got rescheduled for in-clinic collection, and what sounded easy became much more complicated. Unfortunately, this is not a unique experience.

It is worth acknowledging that compared to what female partners typically navigate: pelvic exams, blood draws, vaginal ultrasounds, and sometimes radiologic imaging with multiple clinicians present, a semen analysis is a relatively low-burden ask. That matters. It is one more reason earlier male testing makes sense: the clinical return is high relative to what men are being asked to do.

That’s why Mate Health has validated 34 hours of specimen stability, meaning a sample collected at home can ship overnight and arrive at our lab within a clinically reliable window. No parking, no racing against the clock, no rescheduling.

Why We Started Mate Health

When we started Mate Health, the first decision was what we were not building. We were not building another consumer wellness app with simplified scores. We were not trying to circumvent physicians. We were building something different: a digital diagnostic platform that makes at-home male fertility testing accessible earlier in the fertility journey, giving couples and their physicians a more complete picture from the start without excluding clinician involvement.

In our experience, the OB/GYNs, reproductive endocrinologists, urologists, and fertility clinics witnessing couples through one of the most vulnerable experiences of their lives are not an area in healthcare that needs to be disrupted by disconnected consumer testing. Clinicians need better diagnostic services and tools that fit into existing clinical workflows, helping them offer earlier male-factor evaluation as part of a more complete couple assessment without disrupting clinic operations.

What we kept coming back to was a simple question: What is preventing male fertility evaluation from happening earlier in the couple’s journey?

Earlier Data, Better Decisions

Sperm production reflects roughly a three-month biological window, which means couples may need follow-up care, repeat testing, hormonal evaluation, imaging, or specialist consultation. Earlier access to both male and female fertility data changes what a provider can do from the start. When semen parameters are normal, couples gain reassurance and clinical attention can be directed appropriately. When parameters identify abnormalities, providers can act early, refer to specialists, discuss repeat testing, or recommend simple lifestyle changes when appropriate, not months later.

Testing both partners gives physicians better information to guide care and gives couples a clearer path forward.

How Mate Health Fits Into Provider Workflows

If you don’t make it simple, men will delay. That is not an assumption. It is our experience firsthand. We hear this from providers every day.

Mate Health is designed to fit into existing provider workflows without requiring new systems, referral coordination, or in-office semen collection. Providers can introduce Mate Health through QR-coded brochures in their office, shared digital links sent directly to patients, or through our physician ordering portal. Regardless of how the order enters the system, the experience from there is straightforward. The patient orders online, receives a collection kit at home, collects on their own terms, and ships overnight to our CLIA¹- and CAP²-certified andrology laboratory. Results are available the next day, delivered simultaneously to both the physician and the patient.

No andrology lab search. No in-clinic collection appointment. Less embarrassment. No weeks of waiting. That is what couple-centric fertility care looks like in practice. And we have proof it works.

When the process is simple, patients act. Our work with Sesame is one example of how this works in practice. Sesame is a national telehealth marketplace that also participates in fertility care coordination through the Costco fertility program, including referral pathways with IVI RMA North America for patients who may need in-person fertility treatment. Mate Health fits into an earlier step in that journey by making male fertility testing easier to introduce, complete, and review before couples move further into fertility care.

In this workflow, Sesame providers can introduce the Mate Health at-home male fertility testing kit early in the female partner’s workup and share a direct ordering link with the patient. Patients order online, collect at home, and ship overnight to the lab. Results are shared back with both the patient and provider to review as part of the couple’s fertility care journey. It is easy for practices to offer, easy for patients to complete, and does not add unnecessary burden for providers.

What Makes Mate Health Clinically Different

Patients can find at-home semen analysis options online. The question worth asking is: what makes a result clinically trustworthy, and what makes it actionable?

Mate Health analyzes more than 20 semen parameters, giving providers a more complete view of male fertility than a basic semen analysis alone. Our testing can include DNA fragmentation, vitality, four motility subtypes, morphology, and other clinically relevant measures that help providers better understand sperm quality and function.

Just as important, Mate Health has validated its home collection and overnight shipping protocol against fresh collection methods, demonstrating that shipped specimens can produce clinically reliable results aligned with traditional semen analysis. That validation is what allows physicians to use Mate Health results with confidence in a clinical care pathway.

Results are delivered through MateIQ, which organizes semen analysis findings into a structured, patient- and physician-friendly report. The report summarizes key parameters, flags values outside reference ranges, and provides a patient- and physician-ready PDF that can be shared with a healthcare provider. MateIQ is not a diagnosis tool. It is designed to make lab-based results easier to understand and easier to discuss during the next clinical conversation. 

Why This Matters for Couples

Here’s the data point that always sticks with me: 30% of our kits are ordered by women, and those kits come back in 7 to 10 days, compared to two weeks, two months, or sometimes never. That is Mate Health internal data, and it tells us something important. Couples are already approaching this together. That does not mean fertility is women’s responsibility. It means care models should support both partners from the beginning, because that is already how couples are showing up.

When the operational friction is reduced, men are more willing to engage in the conversation with their partners. Believe it or not, the process can be embarrassing, even for the closest of couples.

By simplifying the process, removing the embarrassment for men, and taking a couple-centric approach from the start, everyone benefits. The couple gets answers sooner. The provider gets a more complete clinical picture earlier. Fertility care becomes more coordinated and informed for both partners, from the beginning.

Mate Health is not replacing clinicians. It is making earlier male-factor testing easier for clinicians to offer, easier for patients to complete, and more actionable for the couple’s fertility journey.

Both partners. Earlier answers. A clearer path forward. Simple.

Medical Disclaimer

This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions you may have regarding a medical condition or fertility concerns.

¹ CLIA: Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments. Federal certification ensures laboratory quality and accuracy standards.

² CAP: College of American Pathologists. Accreditation program represents the highest standard of laboratory quality assurance.