Study Finds Microplastics in Majority of Tested Human Reproductive Fluids

Microplastic particles have been detected in more than half of the human semen and ovarian follicular-fluid samples analysed in a new Spanish study, underscoring the extent to which the pervasive pollutants have infiltrated the human body. Researchers from the University of Murcia and assisted-reproduction group Next Fertility found the fragments in 69% of follicular-fluid samples taken from 25–29 women undergoing fertility treatment and in 55% of semen samples from 18–22 male donors. The work, led by laboratory director Emilio Gómez-Sánchez, identified nine polymers, among them polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA) and polyurethane (PU). Most samples contained one or two particles, though one showed as many as five. The results were released on 1 July at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Paris and appear as a preliminary abstract in the journal Human Reproduction. Because the study has yet to undergo full peer review and involved a relatively small cohort, the authors cautioned that any effects on fertility remain unclear and called for larger, long-term investigations into reproductive and broader health risks.