Letter: Sperm kits put profit first

ANDREW STONE'S moving article on his experience of male infertility investigations and the invention of home testing kits for sperm ('Get your sperm to hospital - quick', 9 January) was a refreshing look at the current debate surrounding infertility, but it did not highlight the complicated nature of sperm testing.

It appears that while a man might have a positive test he may remain infertile. While empowering people in health care should be the ultimate aim of all nurses (like myself), I am concerned that home testing kits cannot be 100 per cent reliable. Nor do they offer backup services. As an infertile woman, I am concerned that yet again, profit-making comes before patient care.

Helen Allen

Effingham, Surrey