The past year has seen several new developments in the field of male reproductive health, including a major revision of how urologists should assess semen quality following the release of new WHO guidelines, novel approaches to sperm selection for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and changes in how clinicians might evaluate and treat patients with hematospermia.

The fact that semen analysis cannot predict fertility has long been a source of frustration for both patients and physicians. Studies have demonstrated that semen analyses have poor predictive value for fertility status. Thus, the WHO reference values for human semen characteristics are of particular interest to anyone attempting to conceive and to the professionals who must counsel these individuals.