Is your andrology service up to scratch?

The quality of the end product from andrology services continues to lack consistency and in some cases fails to meet the needs of the end users (patients or clinicians). Results of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes continue to show unacceptably wide variation for the results of a single specimen. Some laboratories are able to show that the results of semen analyses relate to both natural and assisted pregnancy and are therefore useful in the management of the infertile couple, whereas others claim that their value is limited to the identification of severe male factor infertility. With wide variation in standardisation of methodology, levels of staff training and quality assurance, it is entirely understandable that such discrepancies persist. The following article proposes that Quality Assurance (QA) is derived from standardisation of methods and implementation of good practice for the entire analytical process, i.e. from the collection and delivery of the specimen, through analysis and processing, to the eventual reporting and interpretation of the result to the clinician. Without appropriate QA, the value of diagnostic testing will remain limited and will vary according to the individual or individual laboratory performing the test.