Did we answer all your fertility questions today?
If you still feel you need more guidance and support, you can book a FREE 1-2-1 discovery meeting to talk through the options available to you.
iui success
Is it true that 'washed' sperm used during iui doesn't survive as long in the female reproductive tract as 'unwashed' sperm during normal conception methods? If so, how is the timing of iui determind when using ovulation predictor kits once a day and no ovarian stimulation/monitoring with scans. Thank you
Our Expert's Answer
This information was published 12 years, 9 months ago and was correct at the time of publication. It may not reflect our current practices or regulations.
Please note that all the answers we give are on a generic basis only, as we cannot provide more in-depth answers without access to your medical history. If you need a more detailed response, tailored to you, we would recommend a consultation with one of our Fertility Specialists for more comprehensive medical advice.
It would be very difficult to do a proper experiment to test this theory and I don’t know of any evidence that washed sperm does not survive as long as unwashed sperm. In our laboratory the sperm is prepared using a sperm washing media which has been designed to give the sperm all the nutrients they require to maintain their viability. Ovulation is determined using predictor kits that monitor the level of luteinising hormone (LH) in urine. The kits are designed to be used once a day. If you test more frequently that this it can give rise to a spurious result. Alternatively the LH levels can be determined by daily blood tests. Scans are usually only used in when drugs are administered to achieve induction of ovulation.