What Is Artificial Insemination and How Does It Work?

Artificial Insemination is the process of manually inserting the sperm into the woman’s cervix / uterine cavity with an aim to help her conceive or get pregnant. This is an in-vivo fertilization procedure and uses artificial insemination by donor instead of sexual intercourse.

A sperm donor – who can be anyone from the husband to even an anonymous sperm donor - donates the sperm, that he is supposed to deposit at a fertility clinic, which is then used for this purpose. Most of the sperm used in this case is either fresh or frozen. Usually when a sperm donation center donates the sperm, it is always quarantined and frozen sperm. Apart from donation, there are a multitude of other ways to obtain the sample needed for insemination. In certain cases, only men will be a part of the donation process, while in some cases, a combination of the man and woman will be required.

• Cases where only men are required: Here, the sperm donor is asked to ejaculate either by means of masturbation or aspiration of sperm by puncturing the epididymis or the testicle.

• Cases where both men and women are required: In this method, a process known as interrupted intercourse is used where the sample is collected in a collection condom or using post-coital aspiration from the vagina.

Why do women opt for artificial insemination?

Sometimes, it so happens that the female immune system tends to reject the invading molecules i.e. the man’s sperm. In certain other cases, a range of other issues may be the cause, such as:

• Cervical scarring

• Blockage due to endometriosis

• Thick cervical mucus

How is AI or artificial insemination carried out?

Doctors may deploy a range of techniques such as:

• Intracervical insemination ICI is the practice of inserting the unwashed / nascent semen into the vagina by means of needleless syringe.

• Intrauterine insemination IUI is similar to ICI, but instead, it just uses a catheter and a sample of washed sperm from the sperm donation center is injected. Sometimes using unwashed sperm may result in semen expulsion, pain, and elicit uterine cramping.

• Intrauterine tuboperitoneal insemination IUTPI employs a far more rigorous process than ICI or IUI. In this method, the washed semen is inserted into the uterus as well as the fallopian tubes. In order to prevent leakage, the cervix is clamped. This method uses a high end nut bivalve speculum.

For women who have trouble getting pregnant naturally, a sperm donor can be a real blessing. It can also be helpful for men whose sperm is not strong enough to travel on their own and fertilize the woman’s egg on its own. Artificial insemination by sperm donor has proven to be a truly revolutionary, life-changing treatment in the field of modern fertility medicine today.