Artificial Insemination
Artificial insemination is a technique that can help treat certain kinds of infertility in both men and women. In this procedure, sperm are inserted directly into a woman's cervix, fallopian tubes, or uterus. This makes the trip shorter for the sperm and bypasses any possible obstructions. Depending upon the quality and the sperm count, insemination is can be performed by two methods: Depending upon the quality and the sperm count, insemination is can be performed by two methods:
Artificial Insemination for Husband (AIH): The male collects the semen by masturbation and then this is artificially placed in the vagina, on the mouth of the womb (cervix), with the aid of a syringe.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI): The semen is collected by masturbation, which is processed in the laboratory. The seminal plasma is discarded and the best quality sperms are harvested and kept in special culture media. The ratio of half to one ml of sperms is then artificially deposited into the uterine cavity with the aid of a thin catheter IUI.
Reasons to Opt For Artificial Insemination:
Men- Ejaculation Failure due to:
- Diabetes
- Multiple sclerosis
- Spinal cord injury
- Retograde ejaculation (where sperms are released backward into the bladder instead of urethra. Retrograde ejaculation may be due to diabetes, trauma or operation in neck of the bladder or a side effect due to some drugs)
- Men with mildly low sperm count, poor quality sperm or antisperm antibodies.
- Men who wish to freeze their sperm for possible future use before vasectomy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer.
Women-
- Women with mild endometriosis.
- Women with cervical mucus hostility or poor cervical mucus.
Couples- Couples with unexplained infertility.
Indications For IUI Using Donors Sperm
Donor Insemination (IUI-D) is the introduction of prepared donor sperm into the uterus in order to improve the chances of pregnancy. IUI-D is applied to couples in which the woman has open fallopian tubes and the male partner semen is not suitable for use in fertility treatments. In such circumstances a number of options are available such as adoption or treatment using anonymously donated sperm. IUI-D has the advantages that half the genetic make-up of the child comes from the mother and the couple can still experience pregnancy.
This treatment can also be beneficial under conditions of:
- Males with azoospermia and who cannot afford advanced treatments such as ICSI.
- Males with genetic disorders, which can be prevented from being transmitted to the child by using donor sperms.