Artificial Insemination 101: Everything You Want to Know

Artificial insemination is a common fertility treatment that goes by several names such as intrauterine insemination (IUI). It is not the only fertility inducing treatment, but it is one of many options. This versatility can be confusing to couples trying to conceive. Particulaly if they’re new to the field.

In this article, we’ll break down the concept of artificial insemination from various angles. The procedure, the costs, success rates, and how it differs from IVF.

What’s Artificial Insemination

Artificial insemination is a practice that involves the direct delivery of sperm to the ovaries. This method aims to achieve conception without the need for sexual intercourse. This method is most suitable in cases of male infertility that results from sperm motility problems, low sperm count, or anti-sperm antigens. It is also suitable for female-related infertility.

You can consider this treatment if you’re unable to conceive naturally. Usually, if you’ve been trying unprotected sex for around two years with no success.

Artificial Insemination Procedure

The artificial insemination process is relatively short and quick compared to other techniques.

The first step is to track your menstrual cycle. Artificial insemination works best if your team manages to synchronize treatment with your ovulation. In most cases, this is easy to track with ultrasound. Sometimes your doctor will ask you to take medication before an artificial insemination cycle to stimulate ovulation and increase fertility.

Once a ripe egg begins to appear here you get a trigger shot that prepares your egg within 36 hours. As for your partner, they will have to prepare a sperm sample for the center before a few hours from IUI treatment. Before your IUI treatment by a few hours, your partner has to provide a sperm sample to your center. You can also consider donor sperm.

Preparing the semen sample is important to the success of the treatment. Your technicians need to extract pure sperm and they do so with washing. After removing excess fluid the sperm goes under examination to get rid of immobile sperm.

Next comes the final step which is insemination. It’s a non-invasive and completely painless process where your doctor takes the sperm sample and loads it into a catheter. In less than 2 minutes, your doctor will inject the sperm sample into your uterus through your vaginal tunnel.

Artificial Insemination VS IVF

Artificial semination and IVF are two popular fertility treatments. Here are the top differences you need to know as you plan treatment.

Procedural Differences

IUI is a fairly straight forward procedure that works best for cases of male infertility, PCOS, and other minor obstacles in conception.

IVF on the other hand is more elaborate and targets more complex infertility situations. With IVF you have several stages in a treatment cycle. Likewise, IVF usually performs the entire process until fertilization in a laboratory. And the fetus is then transferred to the uterus after genetic testing.

As we stated above, artificial insemination is about increasing the chances of conception by giving the sperm a boost. Both by direct implantation and processing in the laboratory.

Success

IVF is a more effective treatment for infertility. But many couples prefer to try IUI because it’s less costly and more straightforward. Usually, if it fails, then you can consider IVF.

Of course in certain situations, artificial insemination can work. If you choose this treatment, perhaps try it one more time upon failure if you’re insistent then convert to IVF. It is difficult to compare IVF success rates to IUI success rates because they aren’t exactly the same treatment. In fact, they have different applications to a certain extent and deal with different degrees of infertility.

If your issue with IVF is costs consider IVF in Turkey which is around 1/3 of the price in the USA.

Artificial Insemination Success Rates

Artificial insemination success rates vary from patient to patient. This depends directly on the causes of infertility and the quality of the fertility center you’re seeking. But there is always an average rate of success. And with artificial insemination these are the success rates:

• For male factor infertility, your odds of successful conception are around 8% to 10%
• Cases of tubal infertility have success rates of 5% with artificial insemination
• Infertility due to unknown reasons has a success rate of 18% to 20% with IUI.
• For donor sperm, success rates are around 10% per cycle.

The success rates of IUI are considered low in comparison to other treatments. For instance, IVF success rates are much higher than IUI. While initially, IVF has a higher cost, the low success rates mean you’ll need more repetitions.

Artificial Insemination Cost

The cost of artificial insemination is variable and depends on the location of the center you’re seeking. For instance, in the USA IUI cost has a range between $300 to $1,000 per cycle. For donor sperm, artificial insemination costs can be around $700 to $1,000.

And from state to state the prices can vary greatly. Likewise across countries. In Turkey IUI can cost around $600 to $800 per cycle.

How Does IUI Differ From ICI?

IUI in simple language is a more sophisticated form of ICI. Basically, the ICI technique skips the sperm washing step, hence why it’s cheaper than IUI artificial insemination.

ICI costs usually don’t exceed the $400 price tag in the USA. But as a result, they are less successful than IUI artificial insemination.

The Takeaway

IUI or artificial insemination is partially effective infertility treatment. It works best if you don’t have serious infertility problems. Most couples usually turn to IUI as a primary step. If by 2 to 3 cycles, you don’t find success, it’s best to look for other options.

All in all, the procedure is relatively simple, quick, and undemanding. Just make sure you choose a quality center for your procedure.

Contact Us

Contact our consultants at AkayLife to learn more about fertility treatments abroad. We’re a leading health tourism coordinator in Turkey. Our job is to hear your concerns and give you solutions. We exclusively work with JCI approved fertility centers that are par excellence on a local and an international level.

Especially with fertility, treatment requires repetition and while most couples are willing to repeat costs are always a barrier. For this reason, many are turning to Turkey for affordable treatment. Where typically several repetitions would amount to the cost of one treatment cycle abroad.