Artificial donor insemination with frozen human semen

This study describes the experience with artificial donor insemination (AID) using frozen semen in 227 women who began therapy in 1974 and were followed until March 31, 1976. Ninety-one women (40%) conceived during this period. Sixty-five women (37.9%) failed to continue treatment after three or fewer cycles; follow-up on these patients was incomplete and it is presumed that most did not conceive. The cumulative pregnancy rate was 56.5% among women who persisted in AID for four or more cycles. Additional causes for infertility were found in 53 women. Excluding these, the pregnancy rate was 67.4% for apparently fertile women who had had four or more cycles of AID. Fifty-eight per cent of conceptions occurred within the first three cycles and eighty-five per cent within the first six cycles. The pregnancy rate was not significantly affected by age, occupation, cigarette smoking, or prior fertility. The large number of dropouts after a few cycles of AID suggests a need for intensive and continuous educational, emotional, and psychologic support.