Intrauterine Insemination with Sperm Wash

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a technique of separating the sperm from the semen in an electrolyzed solution and then placing the sperm directly into the uterine cavity. The sperm washing technique does the following:

• It removes any possible infection.
• It removes the prostaglandins from the sperm to minimize the chance of uterine contraction at the time of placement into the uterine cavity of the sperm.
• It concentrates the sperm into a small volume so the process is not painful or uncomfortable.

Intrauterine insemination may be used for treatment of various causes of infertility. One example could be a couple that experiences infertility due to low sperm count. The couple may benefit from intrauterine insemination by concentrating the number of sperm that are inserted into the uterine cavity, thus increasing the chance of one sperm to reach and fertilize the egg. Another example of recommended intrauterine insemination may be in a case of unexplained infertility, when a combination of monitored ovulation and intrauterine insemination will triple the chances of pregnancy over natural intercourse.

Intrauterine insemination with sperm wash is one of the techniques used for gender selection. Although not guaranteed, a series of other separating techniques are being utilized to enhance the number of X or Y chromosomes in the sperm sample used for insemination. These techniques may include centrifuge weight separation or gradient separation, or separation using Microsort, which is a laser technique.

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