Treatable male infertility leading to unnecessary IVF, experts say

Couples are needlessly going through IVF because male infertility is under-researched, with the NHS too often failing to diagnose treatable causes, leading experts have said.

- Rachel Hall

Poor understanding among GPs and a lack of specialists and NHS testing mean male infertility is often left untreated in couples struggling to conceive, despite men accounting for 50% of all infertility cases.

Many causes of male infertility are treatable. One of the most common, varicocele - a dilated vein in the scrotum that increases testicular temperatures, damaging sperm - can be treated through surgery, while lifestyle adjustments and supplements can also help.

Vaibhav Modgil, an honorary clinical professor at the University of Manchester, and consultant urological surgeon and andrologist, said there was a lack of awareness of male infertility, which affects between 5% and 10% of men.

He said women visiting a doctor after struggling to conceive were often rapidly submitted to “every test you can think of”, whereas it could take years for men to receive even basic testing.