Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI)

What is IUI?

Intra-Uterine Insemination (also known as artificial insemination) is the process of preparing and delivering sperms so that a highly concentrated amount of active motile normal sperms is placed directly through the cervix into the uterus. The current IUI pregnancy rate per treatment at Ganin is 18%. IUI can be performed with fertility drugs for the female patient. Compared to timed intercourse, it is generally accepted that there is a 2-fold higher pregnancy rate with IUI. Thus, for infertility patients, IUI is commonly performed as a low-tech, cost-effective approach to enhancing fertility in patients.

Who is IUI suitable for?

IUI is recommended only if the woman has at least one healthy fallopian tube, confirmed laparoscopically or demonstrated by hysterosalpingogram (the tubal dye study), and if the man’s semen analysis is normal or near normal. It may be useful for women who have cervical mucus hostility and in some cases of unexplained infertility.

What does IUI involve?

- Ovulation induction
- Monitoring follicles (where eggs grow) development using transvaginal ultrasound with or without hormonal measurements till eggs are mature.
- Triggering ovulation
- Semen processing & insemination

- On the day of the planned insemination, the husband provides a semen sample. A concentrated preparation of motile sperm is extracted from the semen sample in the laboratory. The sperm preparation is placed into the uterine cavity by means of a fine catheter inserted through the cervix. In general IUI is a painless procedure, which takes only a few minutes

Process of semen processing

There are several techniques available for preparing the sperm for IUI. All of the techniques involve separating sperms from seminal fluid. It is not possible to inject semen directly into the uterus because of chemicals in the fluid that can cause extremely painful uterine contractions. At Ganin, we primarily use a certain method that separate “good” fertile sperms from the rest of semen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why fertility drugs should be used in conjunction with IUI?
A: Simply because several studies have shown better results when fertility drugs for ovulation induction are used in conjunction with IUI in comparison to IUI alone.

Q: How important is timing of the IUI procedure?
A: The timing of the IUI procedure is extremely important for success. The time is determined by the close monitoring of follicles development (that contain the eggs), together with hormonal evaluation if necessary.

Q: How many times IUI procedure can be done?
A: IUI can be done for up to 3 times. If no pregnancy is achieved, this might indicate that this procedure would not be successful if it is used further, and other methods of assisted conception is needed.

Q: Is IUI successful?
A: Yes, for some couples. IUI regain the percentage of achieving pregnancy per every cycle back to the normal levels, which is to be from 18 to 21% (according to the wife’s age). The current IUI pregnancy rate per treatment at Ganin is 19%