How do you get donor sperm for home insemination?

[Briss]

I have been talking to sperm banks in London about freezing my DH's sperm so we could use it later in the cycle around O for home insemination but they refused saying it's not a good practice. I am a bit surprised how do couples (particularly lesbian couples) obtain donor sperm for home insemination? surely it is possible and you do not have to go through IVF/IUI at a clinic in order to get frozen sperm? or am i missing something?

 

[MoBaby]

Why don't you just bd around o time? Will DH be gone or something? If it is just for the low sperm count at home insemination won't change much. You would need IUI or IVF...

Usually ppl doing home insemination have the male (known donor) produce a sample in a sterile container then draw it in a syringe that day then inject. Sperm has to be frozen a certain way; not just in the freezer so it would be nearly impossible to get a bank to send sperm to you to se privately. Normally they send it to a clinic to use. It's bet to do IUI with sperm that as been previously frozen as well. Hope tis helps!

 

[Briss]

Hubby and I are going to BD around ovulation but because he has super low sperm count I was thinking of freezing his sperm during TWW and then use for home insemination in addition to BD.

IUI is not available to us cos of hubby's sperm count and NHS refuses funding for IVF cos of my high FSH, but in any event even if we find money to do IVF privately it seems such an invasive procedure that can damage my ovaries that are quite weak and prone to cysts so using his frozen sperm in addition to fresh seems like a good plan to me, totally risk free but sperm banks are not very supportive of the idea.

 

[lisap2008]

Fresh sperm is always better then frozen because The freezing-thawing cycle does cause some level cell membrane damage and frozen sperm only live for a few hours ( 24 hours max)verses fresh sperm that can live for 3-5 days in the right environment. also when frozen sperm are thawed about 50% of the motile sperm are lost .
I think this is why they are telling you its not good practice.

 

[MoBaby]

Places aren't going to freeze your sperm for home use. Also a fertility clinic isn't going to do that either. Sounds like you guys have multiple factors and need IVF. It won't damage your ovaries. I've done 3 rounds. The FS will prevent you from getting cysts.
Ivf is not as bad as sone think. It seems like your only option at this point. Freezing DH sperm won't give any added benefit. I'm sorry nhs won't fund you due to the fsh level. Due to that it probably will be difficult to conceive even with donor sperm. Have you had a consult with the fertility docs already? Maybe they can help with all the options. Infertility/ttc is sooo hard for some and just not fair! We have no funding for IVF.

 

[Briss]

There seem to be a connection between IVF and ovarian cancel and I have ovarian cancer in my family and I have cysts all the time (even without any stimulation) so the last thing i want is stimulating ovaries. I was hoping to use hubby's frozen sperm in addition to fresh sperm (I mean BD) to boost our chances. I still see it as a simple and risk free option.

I lost my faith in the NHS and I do not believe they can control how much they stimulate ovaries. They made me go though lap&Dye/Hysteroscopy without any benefit which seriously damaged my otherwise perfect cycle. and my buddy here almost lost her baby, ovary and tube (after TTC for 8 years and finally getting BFP naturally) due to doctor's inefficiency they could not find the thing in her uterus and mistakenly thought it was ectopic and were going to operate, luckily in the last moment they did not. It was false alarm. Apparently this happens all the time and women get their tubes removed and quite often nothing is found in those tubes. This is so scary!

High FSH does not prevent you from getting pregnant naturally, the only drawback of high FSH is that your ovaries may not react well to stimulation during IVF that's why I think using frozen sperm without IVF is actually more effective for us. besides I changed my lifestyle and my FSH seems to be getting down, last time I checked it was 8.

I know TTC is really hard and I just wish these sperm banks were more helpful, they seem to be co-operating with IVF clinics rather than patients

 

[lisap2008]

I understand your concern and I hope your able to conceive naturally.