Artificial Insemination including Donor Insemination :
Artificial Insemination can be done using husband’s sperm (AIH sperm) or donor Sperm (AID). The preferred technique of artificial insemination at St. Augustine Medical Centre & Assisted Reproduction Technology Unit, Edo State, is the Intra-Uterine route (as superior results have been demonstrated, compared to other routes).
Husband Insemination (AIH) is useful in:
- With mild sperm derrangement
- Men who have frozen their sperm before Vasectomy, Chemo/Radiotherapy for cancer
- Women with mild Endometriosis
- Women with poor cervical mucus
- Couples with unexplained infertility
Donor Insemination (AID): This is the placement of donor sperm in the female reproductive tract. The use of frozen sperm is now mandatory in most developed countries due to the HIV scourge (semen being a body fluid, is capable of transmitting the virus). We take time to screen and counsel both the donor and the recipient, ensuring that they understand the psychological, moral and legal implications of the procedure.
Embryologist retrieves frozen embryo
AID is indicated in:
- A couple in which the female partner appears to be fertile but her husband has a very poor sperm or no sperm in his semen. (The introduction of ICSI has drastically reduced this hitherto very common indication).
- When there is a risk of transmission of an inherited disease e.g. Haemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy from the male partner. (This also has been made less popular by the introduction of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis which has enabled such couples to undergo IVF, have pre-implantation diagnosis and only normal embryos are transferred).
- Severe Rhesus Incompatibility where the female partner is Rhesus (Rh) sensitized and the male partner is Rh positive.
- When the male partner has an incurable sexual disease such as HIV.
