Shipped Semen Evaluation Service

Have you ever wondered what the semen you ship out really looks like at the receiving end?
Have you ever had a situation where the sample you sent was reported to you as being "dead", but the one you saved from the same ejaculate for evaluation was very much alive?
Have you even just wanted a third-party independent evaluation performed of your whole shipment to see if there are areas that could be improved?

We now offer this service at Equine-Reproduction.com!

We will evaluate shipments of a single sample sent in any semen shipping container - disposable or not. Some stallions' sperm has the ability to ship successfully in disposable containers, retaining fertility, while other stallions require a more stable environment such as may be offered with the Equitainer^®. It is valuable to know the results that can be expected from the container you are using before shipping commercially!

If you do not know which extender is best for your stallion's semen, you may be interested in our cooled semen extender evaluation service.

The Process:

Pack the semen and ship it to us as you would normally, and we will evaluate it upon receipt^* and 24 hours later (if suitable), providing you with a written report for the following parameters:

Actual sperm concentration upon receipt;
Total sperm number upon receipt;
Percentage progressive motility and velocity cooled and warmed upon receipt ^*;
Percentage progressive motility and velocity warmed 24 hours later;
Live-dead percentages upon receipt^* (standard 100+ sperm evaluated);
Sperm morphology upon receipt^*;
Recommendations for changes (if any) that may improve the overall quality of the shipment.

^*24 hours after collection or upon receipt, whichever is latest.

Sperm motility evaluations are performed using our
Hamilton-Thorne CEROS Computer Assisted Semen Analyser!

The Protocol:

Notify us that you are desirous of sending us a shipment for evaluation - we can then advise and confirm of final arrangements;
Collect your stallion 3-4 days prior to the date that you intend collection for shipment to us. This will provide slightly fewer "old" sperm in the ejaculate sent to us, and possibly improve results. This is especially important with older stallions or early in the season - note that collection closer than this time frame may result in fewer sperm in the ejaculate and could therefore be undesirable;
On the day of shipment to us, collect, extend and pack your semen as you would normally;
Send the semen to us, and await your results!

The Costs:

The charge for the evaluation service is $125.⁰⁰

All shipping charges - to and from our facility - will be in addition. We would recommend overnight courier to our facility, and ground or USPS shipment for the return of the container. If counter-to-counter shipment to us is desired, there will be an additional courier charge for pick up at the airport and transport to our facility.