Successful donor insemination and its impact on recipients

Male and female partners of couples who conceived a child by donor insemination (DI) independently completed a questionnaire. Fifty-seven women and 53 men representing 58 couples taking part. Fifty-one were in a continuing relationship and seven were separated. A likert scale (0-7) of "happiness' before, during and after treatment and their perception of their partner's feelings were used as measures. These feelings were evaluated in relation to demographic and clinical factors. Fifty-one women and 49 men who were in a continuing relationship answered questions about their feelings about DI, compared to six and three, respectively, who had separated. Feelings about DI were consistently low before treatment began. For both continuing and separated couples there was an improvement of their feelings about having DI during treatment, and then again after treatment was complete. For the male partner, factors that were associated with greater unhappiness included difficulties with the relationship prior to treatment, waiting time for treatment and subsequent separation. The women, however, had more positive experiences with no measured factors adversely affecting their feelings about DI. The arrival of the DI child had a significant effect in improving the relation-ship. Our findings suggest that for many couples acceptance of the DI program was less than ideal and only improved with having the treatment and then conceiving. The data highlight the need for psychosocial assistance to be made available to couples prior to the commencement of treatment.