Insemination

If infertility is due to a mild disturbance in sperm production, cervical causes, or a so-called unexplained infertility, insemination treatment is a viable option. This treatment involves a sperm wash (that is, mixing sperm with a washing medium and centrifugation) of the sample, which will eliminate all but the best motile sperm cells. These are then brought to the uterine cavity with a thin plastic catheter as close to the time of ovulation as possible. Often a light hormonal treatment is also included to improve the likelihood of pregnancy, as is done with ovulation induction.

If the male partner is found not to have any live sperm cells in either his ejaculate or the testicles, donor insemination (AID) can be used. This treatment involves the same procedure as described above. The sperm donors, however, are strictly selected before their samples have been accepted for freezing and later use in treatments. The likelihood of pregnancy in inseminations is about 10-15% per treatment when the partner's sperm is used. Several attempts (3 to 6) are recommended, which will increase the chances of falling pregnant. When donor sperm is used, this likelihood is slightly higher, about 15-20% per treatment.