O-051 The male reproductive health initiative - global collaboration and progress update

Abstract

Abstract The Male Reproductive Health Initiative (MRHI) was launched in 2018 and is a global collaboration of more than a dozen key opinion leaders in research, medicine, and patient support groups, from the Americas, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe. The mission of the Male Reproductive Health Initiative (MRHI) is to advance the science and practice of male reproductive medicine. The MRHI accomplishes its mission by promoting and contributing to high quality research in both basic and clinical science, forging collaborative relationships with professional societies to contribute to a mission of education, and through advocacy of male reproductive health to all stakeholders including patient support groups, funding agencies, non-for-profit organizations, industry, and the public. Since its inception, interest in MRHI is expanding, as evidenced by invitations from a dozen or more professional societies from around the world requesting presentations to educate their memberships about the initiative. Helping to spread the scientific, medical, and social importance of male reproductive health are six publications and an additional three manuscripts in press, submitted and or being finalized for submission. These papers, each building on the next, highlight gaps in knowledge that exist regarding diagnosis and treatment of male infertility, how lifestyle and the environment impacts the father and his offspring, and the connection between male reproductive health and somatic health. These gaps collectively raise a present and growing global alarm for the man, his partner and family, and society.