A sterile specimen container from the laboratory is required. Container lids must not be waxed cardboard or have plastic or rubber liners to maintain the quality of the sample. Contraceptive condoms are not suitable as the lubricants are spermicidal. Men who are unable to provide a sample on religious or moral grounds may use silastic condoms such as the seminal collection device (Brinsden [22]).

Specimens must be accurately labelled. Prompt specimen analysis is only possible if specimens and their accompanying request forms are sent with specific, accurate and complete patient information. Incorrectly labelled and unlabelled specimens will be discarded (HSE [94]). The form should include as much information as possible as this allows the laboratory to select the most appropriate media inoculation for examination and interpretation of results (Weston [255]). General labelling should be conducted accurately, as discussed at the beginning of this chapter.

It takes between 3 and 4 days for the sperm count to return to normal after ejaculation so patients should be advised that neither sexual intercourse nor masturbation should have taken place for 2 days prior to semen collection. This will ensure that the semen will have an optimum count and motility (NICE [163], Tortora and Derrickson [243]). The patient should have ejaculated at least once between 2 and 7 days before collection. The patient should also be screened for the use of medicines and/or herbal remedies that may have an impact on sperm production or motility, such as St John's wort, which has a mutagenic effect on sperm cells (Chernecky and Berger [32]).