What is the mission and focus of Legacy?
Legacy offers lab-grade, CLIA-certified, at-home sperm testing, freezing, and improvement. Our mission is to make male fertility care and sperm preservation convenient, accessible, and affordable.
We work with individuals who are trying to conceive now, as well as those who want to protect their fertility for the future while they undergo medical treatment, gender-affirming care, or deployment. Simply put: we want to help people have the family they want when they’re ready, no matter their journey.
A 2021 survey revealed that 73% of men who were planning or trying to start a family had no understanding of their own sperm quality. All too often, male fertility isn't tested at all until a couple has been trying for many years, even though half of all infertility cases involve male-factor issues. And despite clear best practices, research shows that 1 in 4 infertility consultations does not include an assessment of sperm health.
Many potential patients aren’t even able to see a specialist. About 40% of the US lives in regions with one or fewer fertility practices, and a third have no reproductive endocrinologists in their geographic area at all. Additionally, many insurance providers still do not cover fertility diagnosis or preservation.
Legacy's digital-first approach and affordable, nationwide accessible mail-in sperm testing and freezing services make male fertility care available to more people than ever before. At-home sample collection makes the process less intimidating, meaning it’s easier for people with sperm to be proactive about their fertility.
Why is supporting research grant funding at ASRM important to Legacy?
We want to change the fertility conversation. We know that age, lifestyle, and genetics all impact a sperm-producing person's ability to produce a healthy pregnancy. It’s likely that a good number of male fertility issues can be addressed with lifestyle changes and procedures, potentially reducing the need for expensive and complex procedures like IVF.
And sperm is bigger than just fertility — it may be a biomarker for a person’s current and future health and a “canary in the coalmine” for environmental issues.
But still, the majority of research and healthcare is still focused on female fertility.
By working with ASRM to fund research in the sperm science space, we hope to help build the scientific evidence that providers need to give clear and effective guidance on male fertility and that patients need to make informed decisions about their care.
How does Legacy’s vision and commitment to research align with the ASRM Research Institute? What does Legacy hope to gain from the grant partnership at ASRM?
As an organization, Legacy has identified some ambitious and important goals.
First, we hope to increase awareness of male fertility issues with initiatives such as our 2023 Sperm Report.
Secondly, we want to make sperm testing and freezing an option for every person in the country. To that end, we’ve created programs with the Navy SEALs and Green Berets to allow members of the US military to preserve fertility prior to deployment. We’ve also partnered with insurance and fertility benefits providers to get an at-home sperm testing option covered by employers.
And finally, we aim to push the field of sperm science forward. Legacy is, at its core, a science-first company. Our medical and research team, headed by CMO Dr. Ramy Abou Ghayda, is dedicated to using our platform to understand sperm more deeply, optimize male fertility care, and improve patient outcomes.
Several studies using our own data bank have been published or are currently in progress, including a study in partnership with the US Department of Veterans Affairs that’s exploring the impact of military service on sperm quality.
We’re proud to partner with the ASRM Research Institute to fund a research grant to support and contribute to life-changing science.
What does Legacy value most from its partnership with ASRM?
We’re honored to have the opportunity to provide funding to benefit the male fertility field. As the principal organization for experts and providers in the fertility space, ASRM is the perfect partner for our goals of awareness, accessibility, and scientific advancement. We’re excited to see what comes out of this cooperative effort.
If interested in partnering with the ASRM Research Institute to provide grant funding for research in reproductive medicine, email us today to learn more about our Grant Partner Program!