Blood test powered by AI ‘could detect infertility in men without semen testing’

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A simple blood test that can identify men who are infertile without the need for semen testing could soon be on the horizon, according to researchers. The idea that a first stage diagnosis could be done from a blood sample taken by the GP does offer some advantages Prof Allan Pacey, University of Manchester The team believes their AI-enhanced blood test could make screening for male infertility more accessible as it can be used in primary care settings such as GP surgeries without the need for special laboratories. He added: “In the future, we hope that clinical laboratories and health check-up centres will use our AI prediction model to screen for male infertility, thereby making testing for male infertility more accessible by overcoming hurdles to it.” About 7% of men are affected by infertility around the world and about half of fertility problems within a heterosexual couple are due to the man, according to the World Health Organisation. To find out if AI could offer a quicker and easier approach, the researchers looked at data from nearly 4,000 men who underwent semen and hormone testing for male infertility between 2011 and 2020 to develop their AI model.