at-home insemination

[Briss]

ladies, I have a question: is it possible to do at-home insemination with our own sperm...? My DH has very low sperm count so I am trying to find a way to collect his sperm over a period of time and then do at-home insemination with tonnes (hopefully) of his sperm just before O. I know that some of you are using at-home insemination with donor sperm so I thought why not to do the same with our own sperm. Is this at all possible? Does anyone know how to do that?

 

[silverbell]

I know you can do at-home insemination with partner sperm, as I've seen other threads on here from time to time and it's certainly possible (usually used for those with partners with performance issues).

However, you can't 'store it up' over time because the sperm will die. It needs to be very, very fresh when it's inserted (as soon after ejaculation as possible).

So therefore this wouldn't appear to be much use to you, as you can't insert 'tonnes at a time'. It sounds like maybe IVF (and possibly ICSI) would be the best way to go if trying naturally isn't working.

 

[Briss]

Thank you for responding!

the whole idea was that we store his sperm over time so we could gradually build his sperm count. it might be a totally stupid idea but the way I look at it is his sperm count is just 3 million per millilitre, this is not enough for natural conception or IUI, what if he ejaculates every 3 days during TWW and every time we collect and store his sperm somewhere (not sure where but probably some lab) and then use it all when the time is right. I mean if we manage to collect say 12-15 millilitres of his sperm over 2 weeks this will give us a total of approximately 36-40 million which is a much better number.

I do not know what you do with a donor sperm once you get it for home insemination? do you have to defrost it somehow before using? if so then what can stop us leaving his sperm in a lab every 3 days and then get it all back in one go? sorry if I sound stupid, I have no knowledge how these things work and am just trying to work it out. if you can do with donor sperm you should be able to do it with your own?

 

[Briss]

like here for example, you can store your sample to use later on in life https://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/11/20/sperm-donor-and-sperm-bank/ what if you want to use it sooner say in a month or so.

I think this can really be a way out for people with low sperm count in couples where women are healthy instead of IVF. I am not ready for IVF cos it's really invasive and can damage my fragile health while the issue is with my hubby's sperm. if we could just get his numbers up I think we will be in with a chance. am trying to arrange an appointment with one of the London sperm banks to check whether this is something they can consider doing. Surely if they do it for cancer patients they should be able to do it for others https://www.healthcentre.org.uk/fertility-treatment/freezing-storing-sperm.html

 

[jakeinsem]

ladies, I have a question: is it possible to do at-home insemination with our own sperm...? My DH has very low sperm count so I am trying to find a way to collect his sperm over a period of time and then do at-home insemination with tonnes (hopefully) of his sperm just before O. I know that some of you are using at-home insemination with donor sperm so I thought why not to do the same with our own sperm. Is this at all possible? Does anyone know how to do that?

You could consult with a fertility clinic in regards to freezing multiple samples and then washing to combine them?? Not sure if you would consider it but I've worked with a couple who's DH had low counts and we combined our ejaculations (NI) for a week surrounding her ovulation and she got

 

[Nimyra]

Sorry, Briss, I don't think this is realistic. Either the sperm would die (most likely scenario), or it would be prohibitively expensive (if you could even convince a sperm bank to help you, which is unlikely).

Could your partner take supplements, avoid caffeine & alcohol, try acupuncture, etc. as a natural way to improve his sperm count & quality?

Another option is to try ttc with a donor (which is what my husband and I decided to do... but his counts were even lower than your DH's.)

 

[Briss]

Nimyra, you are right, I talked to sperm banks and they refused saying that they do not consider it a good practice. I am so disappointed. My DH is on a huge list of vitamins but unfortunately he struggles to quit beer which i think is probably the main reason for his low sperm count.

are you using donor sperm as part of IVF/IUI? do you get fresh donor sperm or frozen?

 

[Nimyra]

Briss,

When we first decided to go the donor route we looked into sperm banks... then I did some research and learned that the success rate at doing at-home insemination with frozen sperm is 3-6% per cycle. So if you are using frozen sperm it is strongly advised that you do it as IUI (with trigger shot) to have a realistic chance of success (brings it up to 10-15%). This is partly because of the damage the freezing does to the sperm, and partly because the frozen sperm doesn't live that long so your timing needs to be spot on.

Using fresh sperm brings the success rate up to 20% (the normal rate) when doing at-home insemination. Doing an IUI with fresh sperm is not necessary unless there is an issue with your sperm (and in general won't improve your chances with high quality sperm).

So... we decided we wanted to use fresh sperm and started on the process of finding a known donor. We couldn't find a friend who wanted to donate, so we went online and found some sites where we could search for known donors. It is riskier than going to a bank because there is a chance I could catch an STD, but I've had great luck finding good donors and I get STD tests (and reimburse their expenses).

We conceived my daughter using a donor. Now we are ttc #2 using a (different) donor because our first donor moved far away.

Some donors offer to ship sperm, this works better than frozen sperm but not as well as fresh sperm. Only plan on doing shipping if you are confident you can time things right (or the donor has a high shipping success rate - some guys sperm survives better than others).

Check out the threads on this site about at home insemination for more information!

 

[Briss]

Nimyra, thank you so much you explained it so well, I can now understand the point i.e. the frozen sperm doesn't live that long so the timing needs to be spot on which is difficult to achieve of course. that's something I did not realise and sperm banks did not explain it to me. And probably during IUI they place the sperm into the tube so it does not have to waste time and energy of going all the way up the tube and can just concentrate on penetrating the egg.

 

[Briss]

actually looking through your thread on at-home insemination some people used frozen donor sperm which they received in the dispenser. so it is doable? if you can get donor sperm in the dispenser why cant you get your own? I feel like I am back to square one.

 

[Nimyra]

The reason they usually won't do your own is that most men's sperm doesn't survive the freezing process. They screen potential donors for their "freezability" - less than 10% of guys who want to be donors qualify. If your hubby already has low counts, odds are none of his swimmers would survive the freeze/thaw.

There is probably a cryobank somewhere that would work with you, but they wouldn't be a reputable cryobank if they took your money when they knew it was almost guaranteed to fail. They also have to charge you a lot of money to make it worth their while.

This just isn't part of their usual business model.

You could probably find a bank somewhere who would work with you, but I'm telling you, the odds of this helping are beyond slim.

I'm sorry.

 

[Nimyra]

Also, I'm sorry if I come off too blunt/direct. I really do empathize with your situation and I know how frustrating and confusing this can be.

 

[Briss]

quite the opposite you have been most helpful! the only one so far who has been able to sensibly explain how things work. Much appreciated! I did not take into account that donors would have much better sperm quality. I understand it now. IVF it is then.

 

[Nimyra]

So glad I've been helpful! It sounds like IVF is a good plan for you two. baby dust.