Not long ago, your only option to test your sperm health was to visit a regular fertility clinic. This process included providing a sample in the uncomfortable settings provided by the clinic and was associated with an extended turnaround period for results, multiple expenses, and referrals.
Thankfully, things have changed due to the availability of at-home fertility kit tests. Now, all you have to do is order your kit online and then provide your sample at the convenience of your home.
YO Sperm has taken this concept one step further by bringing the lab straight to your home!
In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive review of the YO home sperm test kit along with its respective app.
TL; DR: What is YO Sperm?
- YO Sperm is an affordable at-home male fertility test that does not require mailing it back.
- It measures your motile sperm concentration and compares it to WHO references as well as to men who have fathered children.
- It is an FDA-approved method and studies report it is 97% accurate
- It does not provide information on sperm morphology and it can’t be used to confirm vasectomy.
Pros and Cons of YO Sperm
YO Home Sperm Test Kits
All you have to do, to test your sperm fertility is order the kit online.
Everything you will need for the analysis apart from your phone or computer will be already in your hands.
Afterward, you can follow a few simple steps and receive your results right away.
You do not have to mail the YO Home Sperm Test Kit back to a lab for analysis.
The basic YO Sperm Test is packaged in a kit that is sufficient to run two complete tests. You can also purchase kits with equipment for 4 or 6 tests.
The basic kit consists of:
- Two semen collection cups
- Two vials of liquefying powder (chymotrypsin with eosin)
- Two disposable pipettes for sample aspiration
- Two fixed coverslip slides for sample testing
- One YO Clip device that attaches to the smartphone and houses the fixed coverslip slide for analysis
- One plastic zip-lock storage bag for the Sperm Clip device
Here’s a video on what to expect inside your kit!
How Does YO Sperm Work?
With the YO Sperm test kit, you are your own fertility lab expert.
Once you have received the kit, you should download the YO Sperm app on your smartphone or PC and then complete the following steps:
- Connect the YO Sperm Clip device to a power source via USB cable. The device can connect to your smartphone or PC via Wi-Fi or directly via a cable.
- Collect your sample into the collection cup and follow the on-screen instructions in the app.
- Pour the liquefying (liquefaction) powder and mix. You will have to wait few minutes while the sample liquifies so you can enjoy a trivia challenge on the app in the meantime.
- Draw from the sample into the pipette and place a drop on the red dot section of the slide. Make sure the rhomboid on the slide is completely filled with your sample.
- Insert the slide into the YO Sperm Clip device and start the test via the app. Wait 2 minutes for your test results and you will receive information about motile sperm concentration, YO score, and recorded video of your swimmers.
YO Sperm App
Your sperm is analyzed by the YO sperm app, which can be downloaded for free on smartphones and PCs. The application is suitable for Apple iPhone, Android, MAC, and Windows PCs.
The YO sperm app can provide you with 3 main results – motile sperm concentration (MSC), YO score, and sperm video.
MSC is considered to be one of the most important measurements of male fertility. It is calculated by multiplying the sperm concentration per milliliter and the percentage of total motile sperm.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) references, MSC should be at least six million motile sperm per milliliter. This is considered the cut-off point which determines your results as Low vs. Normal MSC.
The second result is the YO Score which is directly related to MSC. It compares your motile concentration to that of men who have already fathered children.
The result is 10 to 90 in intervals of 10. If your score is 20, you rank above 20% of fathers. If your score is 90, you rank above 90% of fathers.
The 3rd result provided by the app is a video of your swimmers. The video offers a clear visual reference to complement your MSC and YO Score results.
How to Buy YO Sperm Kit and Pricing
YO Sperm can be purchased on the official website as well as on Amazon.
The price of the YO Sperm test kit with the option for testing 2 semen samples is $79.95. There are also options to test 4 or 6 samples with the same testing kit which cost $99.95 and $118.95.
If you have run out of supplements for testing, you can also purchase refill kits. They do not include the device which you already have.
The price of a 2x Refill kit is $39.95, while a 4x Refill kit comes at $74.95.
YO Sperm Reviews
YO Sperm has been rated 3.7/5 by TrustPilot and its score is 4.3/5 in Amazon.
Here are some of the reviews by people who have tried the YO Sperm kit:
5.0 out of 5 stars – Fast delivery, great product!
“Easy to use and delivered extremely quickly. Highly recommended.”
4.0 out of 5 stars – Takes time to get used to
“So far, it’s great. Takes some time to set up and understand exactly what to do but it worked well. All and all great for the price.”
5.0 out of 5 stars – Read the directions ahead of time!
“My husband has infertile relatives so we wanted to do an initial check before trying to get pregnant – this test was relatively inexpensive and easy (compared to an uncomfortable doctor’s visit).
Important details (such as phone charging % and setting it to airplane mode) are relatively buried in the printed directions and some of the app directions (such as what we experienced as a too-short ‘stirring’ duration) led to some difficulty getting the sample into the slide, but this is why I highly recommend reading everything at least twice and maybe even going through the app checklist before you get to the time-sensitive reality.
We had some trouble getting the sample onto the slide (which I think is due to insufficient stirring), but by slightly tilting the slide we eventually got it to fill the cavity. After that, everything went smoothly and we feel a lot better as we start trying to have a baby. The video is cool and it’s reassuring to see all the movement, not just a count (which could be lots of dead, useless sperm).”
YO Sperm Test Accuracy
According to a study on 24 men who have provided 144 semen samples, the test can measure MSC with 97% accuracy compared to an automated laboratory semen analyzer ”SQA-Vision”.
The study was performed in the American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, O
Keep in mind that there are things that the YO Sperm test can’t measure, such as total sperm count, sperm morphology, etc.
The test is not suitable for confirming vasectomy results.
Is YO Sperm Right for Me?
YO Sperm is a great option if you want to monitor changes in your fertility indicators, such as sperm motility and MSC.
However, YO Sperm may provide insufficient information for some patients, when compared to other at-home fertility tests.
If you’d like to receive a complete sperm analysis including total count or the morphology of your swimmers, then you should consider choosing another at-home option or visit an in-person fertility clinic.
Best Male Fertility Kits
Want to learn more about other options for male fertility kits? Read our article here!
