Artificial insemination is one of the oldest and simplest treatments for infertility. The physician uses a catheter to place sperm directly into the cervical canal just before or on the day of ovulation. Since the UC Davis Artificial Insemination Program opened in 1977, thousands of couples with a variety of infertility problems have used artificial insemination to achieve pregnancy. Because timing is critical, artificial insemination is available seven days a week. The best days for insemination are determined individually through a variety of ovulation predictors.

Artificial insemination is a widely accepted medical procedure for several types of infertility, including low sperm count, low sperm motility, retrograde ejaculation (in which most of the sperm are recovered from the urine), antisperm antibodies (in either partner), female cervical problems, or unexplained infertility. Two methods of artificial insemination are possible:

In donor artificial insemination, the semen containing the sperm is obtained from a carefully screened volunteer who is not known by the patient. This method of fertilization can be used to help single women conceive. It also may be used for severe male-factor infertility in which there are no sperm (azoospermia), very few sperm, or when the couple may not want to pass a specific genetic factor on to their child.

The UC Davis Fertility Center uses cryopreserved (frozen) donor sperm, which the patient selects from a sperm bank. The program is strictly confidential, in keeping with guidelines published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Thawed sperm live for a relatively short time in the female reproductive tract, so two inseminations, one on the day before and one on the day of ovulation, offer the best opportunity for pregnancy. The chance of conceiving is about 15 percent each cycle.