RESULTS OF DONOR INSEMINATION RELATED TO SPECIFIC MALE-INFERTILITY AND UNSUSPECTED FEMALE INFERTILITY

Apparently normal but infertile women were treated by artificial insemination using fresh donor semen. In 228 couples in which the male partner was azoospermic the average monthly conception rate was 13.3% and the 12-month cumulative rate was 82.2% (SE 2.7%). In 116 couples in which the partner was oligospermic the monthly rate was 8.7% and the 12-month rate 66.6% (SE 5.0%, P < 0.01). Previous smaller studies have given rise to conflicting or inconclusive results, but the reduced conception rates in the partners of oligospermic men in this large study suggests that unexplained female factors, discussed in the paper, contribute to their infertility in up to a third of patients.