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Hematospermia

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Alan J. Wein, MD
Last Modified: June 23, 2002

Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
This morning my wife and I had sex and I found blood in my sperm. I am 65 and in good health. Is this something that I should be concerned about?  

Alan J. Wein, MD, Professor and chair of the Division of Urology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Chief of Urology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:

Hematospermia (the fancy name for blood in the semen) can be due to a number of things, but is most often due to inflammation or infection. Generally speaking, if there is no blood in the urine (a microscopic examination of the urine is necessary to determine this), and if a digital rectal exam of the prostate is normal (nothing to suggest cancer) and the serum PSA is normal, then hematospermia does not signify anything serious. However, a full evaluation by a urologist should be carried out when this occurs for the first time.