Quest collaborates to bring home fertility test to women

Original from: roi-nj.com

Quest Diagnostics said Thursday that women seeking to start or expand a family can now access the Proov Confirm PdG home collection kit for assessing fertility through questhealth.com.

The Proov Confirm PdG test is the first and only FDA-cleared PdG (progesterone metabolite) home test kit to confirm successful ovulation.

Trough a collaboration between Secaucus-based Quest and Proov, the test is the first women’s health test from a third-party manufacturer available through questhealth.com.

Progesterone is a reproductive hormone that helps prepare the lining of the uterus for implantation and pregnancy. Progesterone levels should be elevated several days after ovulation to allow implantation to occur; this is known as the implantation window. The Proov Confirm PdG test is intended for the detection of pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG, the major urine metabolite of progesterone) in urine and can be used as an aid for confirmation of ovulation. It measures PdG levels in the urine over four key days — the “implantation window” — to help assess if ovulation was successful.

“I created Proov after my own battle with infertility because I wanted other women to have more information and options than what I had at the time,” Proov founder and CEO Amy Beckley said. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Quest to broaden access to Proov Confirm so even more women can access insights to help them realize their dream of raising a family.”

The Proov Confirm home collection kit can be purchased now on questhealth.com for $29. It involves a urine test, similar to an at-home pregnancy test, with results visible to the eye in 5-10 minutes.

Users can also download the free Proov Insight app to receive reminders to test, gain help in interpreting results and personalize an action plan. The test may be appropriate for women who have been trying to conceive but without success.

As many as 1 in 5 women experience challenges with fertility, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. It is advisable for women who are experiencing ovulation-related issues to consult with a health care provider regarding potential causes of the issue.

“Health-conscious consumers want choice, and our collaboration with Proov is an example of how Quest is stepping up with the test options they want, where and when they want them,” Richard Adams, vice president and general manager of consumer-initiated testing at Quest, said.

The Proov Confirm test joins several other Quest tests to aid fertility assessments and family planning on questhealth.com, including:

- Ovarian Reserve Assessment Marker (AMH) Test, which measures women’s ovulatory egg supply and potential effect on fertility;

- hCG Pregnancy Test to help confirm pregnancy by detecting the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), also called the pregnancy hormone, in the blood as early as seven days after conception;

- Pre-Pregnancy Test Panel to evaluate health factors important for a healthy pregnancy and fetal development;

- Testosterone Test (men) to measure the testosterone level in the blood to assess if the level is normal, high or low by age.

Source: Quest collaborates to bring home fertility test to women