Artificial donor insemination: analysis of 149 cases at North Carolina Memorial Hospital

We analyzed 149 cases of artificial insemination with donor semen at North Carolina Memorial Hospital, Chapel Hill, to study its effectiveness. An overall pregnancy rate of 62.1% was achieved. Based on the mean monthly fecundity rate, the average monthly pregnancy rate was 16.5%, and the cumulative pregnancy rate after three, six, and ten cycles was, respectively, 40.3%, 68.5%, and 95.5%. A uniform evaluation of the women and correction of any treatable female factors before insemination contributed to a high success rate. Diagnostic laparoscopy after three to four failed insemination cycles yielded a high percentage of abnormal findings. These data suggest that almost all properly screened patients will conceive if allowed to undergo a sufficient number of inseminated cycles and that this procedure is a highly effective alternative means of circumventing male infertility.