Blood Tests For Infertility: FSH, LH, Thyroid And Testosterone Test

There are various blood tests conducted for both men and women to test infertility causes.

Luteinizing Hormone (LH) And Progesterone Tests

This infertility blood test determines if the women is ovulating. In the males, the LH test can help discover if he has a pituitary gland problem.

In females, the Lutenizing Hormone helps regulate the menstrual cycle and egg production (ovulation). The level of LH in a woman’s body varies with the phase of the menstrual cycle. In men, LH stimulates the production of testosterone, which plays a role in sperm production.

Thyroid Function Tests

In women, Thyroid function tests are conducted to find out if she has any thyroid hormone problems that may be preventing ovulation.

Thyroid hormone tests are blood tests that check how well the thyroid gland is working. The thyroid gland makes two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), that regulate the way the body uses energy. A thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) blood test is used to check for thyroid gland problems.

Prolactin Medical Test

Prolactin is a hormone made by the pituitary gland. It may be checked if a woman has menstrual cycle or ovulation problems. The pituitary gland makes a hormone called Prolactin. Prolactin in fmales help make breast milk. The level of prolactin in pregnant women is about 10-20 times the normal levels, that helps make breast milk.

 An abnormal or defective pituitary gland may not be able to make normal amounts of prolactin. In such cases the prolactin hormone levels will be lower.

FSH Testing

Sometimes women have irregular supply of egg in the ovaries. The follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) test is conducted to determine the condition of a woman’s egg supply (ovarian reserve). The FSH test helps control a womans menstrual cycle and also the egg production. The FSH is also produced by the pituitary gland. In males with a low sperm count, the FSH test is used to find the source of the problem. Very high or Very low  FSH levels may indicate that the egg or sperm count is very low or may not be produced at all.

Testosterone Test

This test is conducted for males. This test determines if the pituitary gland or the testicles are causing infertility in the male.  Low or deficiency of testosterone may indicate low sperm count leading to infertility.

Antibody Blood Tests For Infertility

Sometimes there are antisperm antibodies in the blood, semen and genital fluids. Antibody infertility blood tests are conducted to detect these antibodies. These antibodies damage or kill the sperm. It becomes very difficult for the sperm to fertilize an egg in such cases. The antibodies look for special proteins in the blood to attack the sperm, semen and in the genital fluids.