Artificial Insemination by Donor — Status and Problems

Abstract

Research, both basic and applied, has led to significant progress in the therapy of female infertility. The treatment of male infertility, on the other hand, has been discouragingly slow. Until recently, couples with infertility secondary to oligospermia (too few sperm) or azospermia (absence of sperm) relied principally on adoption to establish their families. In the last decade, however, newly accepted sociological and moral attitudes and legal statutes concerning abortion and contraception have led to decreasing numbers of infants available for adoption and a marked increase in the number of requests for donor insemination. This increase is also due in part to the knowledge that the service is available from more and more physicians and clinics, and to the growing success rate and greater social acceptance of the procedure.