Current status of artificial insemination with donor semen

As male infertility secondary to oligospermia and azoospermia reamins refractory to treatment, donor insemination has gained greater acceptance. Wives of azoospermic and severely oligospermic men were evaluated for donor insemination. One hundred and thirty-four patients were found to be ovulating normally and to be free from pelvic pathology.Sixty-five accepted donor insemination. Fifty-one conceptions accurred in 41 patients, resulting in 43 live births and 8 miscarriages. The mean number of inseminations was 4.2 (range 1 to 13). Eighty-three patients were found to have endocrinopathies or pelvic pathology interfering with fertility; 58 were considered candidates for corrective therapy to be followed by donor insemination. Conception rates approached those observed in the average population; however, there was a greater incidence of abortion and ectopic gestation. Careful consideration of the patient prior to donor inseminationensures greater success and avoids unnecessary procedures when the patient is not considered a candidate for corrective therapy.