Donor sperm IVF vs donor sperm IUI: which fertility treatment is right for you?

Patients

When most people imagine having children, their thoughts tend to focus on the joy of becoming a parent: the first smiles, shared milestones, and building a life together as a family. Rarely do we picture ourselves navigating medical appointments or making complex decisions about how that family will be formed.

That’s why, when conceiving takes longer than expected or you’re faced with an infertility diagnosis, it can feel overwhelming. Knowing which direction to take next isn’t always easy, especially when emotions are high and the answers aren’t clear.

Fortunately, assisted fertility treatments like IUI (intrauterine insemination) and IVF (in vitro fertilisation) offer different pathways to parenthood. These treatments can use either partner or donor sperm, with each option offering its own benefits and challenges. That’s why having clear, accurate information is so important; so you can choose the approach that’s best for your personal situation.

In this article, we’ll help you take the first steps in understanding the differences between IVF and IUI using donor sperm. By exploring the key factors involved, we aim to give you the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about which route to take.

Factors to consider when weighing up donor sperm IVF vs donor sperm IUI

There’s a lot to weigh up when considering different fertility treatments. You might be deciding whether to use partner or donor sperm or comparing donor sperm IVF vs donor sperm IUI. Logistical, financial, and emotional aspects all come into play. Taking the time to think about these factors and doing your own research can help create a clearer picture. You can also speak to your GP or, if you are already a patient at a fertility clinic, ask your team any questions you have that might help you make your choice.

Some of the key factors to consider include:

Female fertility and medical history

A woman’s personal health and individual circumstances can significantly impact her chances of natural conception. The reproductive system is highly sensitive, and even small changes in the body can influence ovulation, egg quality, and the overall function of the menstrual cycle.

Fertility can be affected by a wide range of factors, some temporary, others more complex or long-term. Understanding how these may play a role in your ability to conceive can help inform whether IVF, using donor sperm, or another route might be the most appropriate option.

Factors that can affect female fertility include:

Weight
Hormone imbalances
Medical conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
Smoking
Alcohol consumption
Chronic stress
Exposure to toxins
Genetic abnormalities

Male fertility and medical history

Just like female fertility, male fertility can be influenced by a variety of health and lifestyle factors such as weight, stress, medical conditions, environmental exposure, alcohol consumption, and smoking. When it comes to conception, sperm health plays a vital role.

Sperm quality is assessed through several key parameters:

Count: the number of sperm present
Motility: how well the sperm move
Morphology: the shape and structure of the sperm
Vitality: the percentage of live sperm
DNA fragmentation: the amount of sperm with breaks or damage to its DNA

These factors can significantly impact the chances of fertilisation, both in natural conception and in treatments like IUI (intrauterine insemination) and IVF.

With donor sperm, all donors are required to undergo a thorough screening process, including medical history reviews, infectious disease testing, and semen analysis, to ensure their sperm is of high quality and suitable for use in fertility treatment. There are also different donor sperm sample types that best match different fertility treatments.

Age

Fertility reduces naturally with age in both men and women, although to different extents. The chance of natural conception is around 20% in each menstrual cycle for women under 30. However, this decreases to 5% by the time a woman reaches 40. Female age also affects the rates of fertility treatments. Women in their late 30s or early 40s may be advised to have IVF rather than IUI due to the number of remaining eggs they have.

Age also affects male fertility, although at a later stage and less severely. One study found that natural conception is 30% less likely for men over 40 than for men under 30.

Cost

Different fertility treatments can vary significantly in cost. Even the same treatment can change in price between cycles depending on the appointments, medications and extras required. The clinic you choose also has an impact on the overall price of treatment.

It’s difficult to pinpoint average costs in the UK. However, an IUI cycle with donor sperm can start from around £1500, while IVF cycles typically cost around £5,000.

There will be other expenses on top, though. Medication costs are usually extra and can be anything from £50 to £300 for IUI and £500 to £1500 for IVF. There will also be an HFEA fee for each treatment. With IVF, there’s also the cost of embryo storage to consider.

Success rates

The success rate of any fertility treatment is influenced by many factors, but broadly speaking, IVF has better success rates than IUI. This is because, with IUI, your body is doing more on its own. Many people require several IUI cycles to achieve pregnancy.

In 2022, the average IVF birth rates using a fresh embryo transfer were 35% per embryo transferred for women aged 18-34 and 10% for women aged 40-42.

Birth rates for London Sperm Bank donor sperm IUI cycles between 2019 and 2022 were 20% for women under 35, 14% for women aged 35-37 and 13% for women aged 38-39.

Timeframe

Donor sperm IUI is generally a shorter process than IVF. An IUI cycle typically takes 3-4 weeks, whereas IVF is more complex, taking 4-8 weeks. If you are required to have a frozen embryo transfer rather than a fresh embryo transfer, this can further extend the timeframe of an IVF cycle.

Invasiveness

Donor IUI is largely considered a less complex and less physically demanding procedure compared to IVF. IUI typically involves minimal medication and a simple in-clinic insemination process. IVF, on the other hand, requires ovarian stimulation with hormone injections, egg collection under sedation, and embryo transfer, making it a more intensive and invasive experience, both physically and emotionally.

Biological parenthood

One of the most sensitive and deeply personal considerations when choosing which path to take is biological parenthood. With donor IUI or IVF, the child will not be biologically related to the intended father, which can be a difficult and emotional realisation for some. It’s completely natural to experience a sense of loss or uncertainty when faced with this aspect of treatment.

However, when finding a donor as a recipient, you are given detailed information about each donor’s physical features, medical history, personality traits, education, and interests. This allows you to choose someone who feels like a good match, whether that’s in terms of resemblance, values, or background.

Comparing donor sperm IVF vs donor sperm IUI

Even if you’ve decided to pursue fertility treatment or use donor sperm as part of this, there are still different options to explore. Your personal circumstances, whether medical, emotional, or practical, will help you choose the route that’s best for you.

IUI with donor sperm

Donor insemination IUI involves placing donor sperm directly into the uterus around the time of ovulation to improve the chances of fertilisation. It’s often recommended for single women, same-sex female couples, or heterosexual couples where the male partner has no or very low sperm count. IUI is less invasive and more affordable than IVF, but success rates can be lower, especially in those with additional fertility issues.

IVF

The IVF process involves stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, retrieving them, fertilising them in a lab with sperm, and transferring one or more embryos into the uterus. IVF is commonly recommended when there are female fertility issues, unexplained infertility, or if IUI hasn’t been successful. It offers higher success rates per cycle but is more physically and emotionally intensive and also more expensive.

ICSI

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a specialised form of IVF where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg. It’s typically used in cases of male factor infertility, such as low sperm count, poor motility, or abnormal morphology, where sperm needs to be surgically collected, or where you’ve previously had IVF but few or no eggs have fertilised. ICSI helps overcome fertilisation barriers but still requires the full IVF process, including egg collection and embryo transfer.

IVF with donor sperm

This option combines IVF with the use of donor sperm. It’s often used when there are male fertility issues or when a male partner carries a genetic condition. It may also be suitable for same-sex female couples or single women with additional fertility concerns. Like standard IVF, it involves hormone stimulation, egg collection, and embryo transfer, but with donor sperm used for fertilisation.

Key differences of donor sperm IVF vs donor sperm IUI summarised

There’s a lot of information, thoughts and feelings to process to reach a decision on whether to choose IVF or IUI, even if you’ve settled on using donor sperm. It’s a personal choice that may take time to reach. It can be helpful, however, to see the main aspects of each treatment compared side-by-side:

	IUI with Donor Sperm	IVF	ICSI	IVF with Donor Sperm
Process	Donor sperm is placed directly into the uterus around ovulation	Eggs are retrieved and fertilised in a lab and embryos are transferred	IVF process with a single sperm injected directly into each egg	IVF using donor sperm instead of the partner’s for fertilisation
Cost	Lower cost per cycle	Higher cost due to medication, procedures and lab work	Typically more expensive than IVF due to the added lab technique	Similar to IVF, but donor sperm adds additional cost
Success rate	Lower per cycle, especially in older individuals or with known fertility issues	Moderate to high, depending on age and fertility factors	Similar to IVF, higher in cases of male factor infertility	Similar to standard IVF, but dependent on egg quality and other factors
Timeframe	One cycle of treatment is typically around 2 weeks	One cycle of treatment is typically less than 4 weeks	Similar timeframe to IVF	Same as IVF
Invasiveness	Involves 2-3 internal scans but no surgical procedures	Involves hormone injections, 3-4 internal scans, egg retrieval and embryo transfer	Same as IVF	Same as IVF
Biological parenthood	Biologically related to the mother	Biologically related to both parents	Biologically related to both parents	Biologically related to the mother

If or when you decide that treatment with donor sperm is what’s right for you, the London Sperm Bank is here to help you find your ideal donor match. To get started, browse our donor catalogue.

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