Lily Elsner
Removing the taboo around male fertility with mail-in sperm test kits
Project
Jack Fertility
URL
Location
South East (England)
Theme
Health
Removing the taboo around male fertility with mail-in sperm test kits
North Carolina-born Lily Elsner worked in healthcare, law and biotechnology before a friend approached her with a research idea – male fertility.
She found that the UK is facing a looming fertility crisis. Sperm counts have declined by around 50 percent since 1980 and over a third of infertility is exclusively caused by the male factor. Yet male fertility remains a taboo topic and there is no at-home, lab-quality test available.
Lily’s business, Jack Fertility, is developing a mail-in sperm test kit which offers lab-grade semen analysis. After receiving a sample, Jack Fertility sends results and recommendations through a companion app, which will also offer an anonymous support community.
The mission for the business is to remove barriers to men’s reproductive health in the UK and make it as easy as possible to assess male fertility. Jack Fertility is still in the concept stage, so Lily’s next step is raising money to validate the product and operational model.
“We’ve seen friends and family experience heartbreaking infertility issues in line with the alarming research statistics on global fertility. Being part of the solution in preventing the excruciating pain of infertility and frustration around conception speed motivates and inspires us,” she says.