I am NOT OP. Original post by u/Imicrowavebacon in r/labrats

trigger warnings: sperm

mood spoilers: funny in a nerdy way

Should I let my girlfriend look at my sperm under the microscope? - August 17, 2023

She does a lot sperm stuff (not fertility related) and has always wanted to look at mine. She's coming to the end of her PhD now and wants to see it before she loses her opportunity.

I know I technically should say no but I also know it'll probably be fine. My only concern is that, if my sperm look weird (low count, immotile etc), my gf is in no way a fertility scientist and can't tell me any more than "they look weird and I don't know if something's wrong or not." Then I'm stuck worried about being infertile for years with no way to resolve that anxiety without having to arrange a fertility test, which in the UK isn't really a 'no questions asked' procedure as far as I'm aware

On the other hand it will probably be fine and I don't wanna seem like a real stick in the mud. She's being saying she wants to do this for years and while I've also said I was a bit iffy on it she'll still be let down.

I don't even know what I'm asking tbh, just wanted to hear some perspectives from other scientists, maybe ones who've had a cheeky look at their own blood/urine/sperm etc?

EDIT: This got a lot more attention than I was prepared for. Most people seem to think I'm overthinking this and I do tend to do that so I've decided to go ahead and let her do it.

We're both in the lab this weekend so we'll do it then. To those who think this is a joke, I will upload proof lol.

For some reason uploading a pic of my sperm only feels a few steps away from an unsolicited dick pic but we're all scientists here I guess.

Update: I let my girlfriend look at my sperm under the microscope - August 24, 2023

You guys convinced me, here is the proof. [Editor's note: Link goes to a video showing sperm viewed under a microscope. It's annotated to show some of the more interesting swimmers.]

For those who wanted to know the collection method, the sperm was extracted using previously described methods and collected in a 50 mL Falcon tube. [Editor's note: for those who don't know what a Falcon tube is, here's a link] This was then transported to the lab in my gf's jeans. I'd say it was about 2 hours from penis to slide which I think is okay, probably not breaking any records but they're not the kind of records I want to break.

All in all pretty interesting experience. There really was a lot of variety and I definitely worked myself up too much. I had a hard time relating to the little guys as my own, hopefully I won't feel the same way about any future children. The lab wasn't totally empty too so it did feel a little bizarre leaving a tube of my spunk on the bench behind a co-worker. Most jobs that would be a bit of a faux pas.

Girlfriend loved the experience, she feels satisfied and happy with my sperm. For what it's worth I think I have some pretty slick swimmers too. May be playing with fire here but feel free to send me any pics of your sperms too, we could race them lol.

Reminder - I am not the original poster.