Fertility treatments sometimes get bad press. It is often suggested that they are not very successful – however, articles can be misleading. They often fail to mention that for couples who are lucky enough to conceive without any help, their chance of success per attempt is approximately 7-8%, with more than 80% couples conceiving after 12 attempts in a year.
This might help to put fertility treatment success rates into perspective – for example, for IUI it can be around 10-15%, or 30-40% for IVF (albeit with wide variation).
All the data described below was analyzed for the periods 2017-2020
IUI and DIUI
IUI or intra-uterine insemination a simple insemination procedure, often combined with mild drug treatment to stimulate the ovaries.
DIUI is essentially the same treatment, but uses donor sperm instead of sperm from the male partner.
IUI success rates at NUH Life
For the right couple IUI is very effective, with success rates that exceed an 18% chance of pregnancy and 16% chance of a live birth per attempt. (The figure for live births is always 2-3% lower, as occasionally some pregnancies do not result in a baby.)
Our clinic sees no significant decrease in success rate whether its a first, second or third attempt. IUI success depends on female age and quality of ovulation more than any other factor.
Is IUI right for you?
This very much depends on the answers to the questions below. If you can answer yes to the following, then IUI may be right for you.
- Are you under 38 years of age?
- Has your tubal patency test (HSG, HyCoSy or laparoscopy) shown that you have no sign of tubal disease and both Fallopian tubes are open?
- Has your partner’s sperm quality been described as ‘normal’, or at least borderline* ?
*Sperm tests are sometimes interpreted as ‘borderline’ if only one of the main semen parameters does not meet the ‘normal reference range’ as defined by the World Health Organisation. As long as we can harvest a minimum of 5 million motile sperm after preparation, the chances of conception are just as good as anyone.
DIUI success rates at NUH Life
DIUI can be used either with or without drugs (stimulated or natural), and is often more successful than IUI with partner sperm. Drug stimulation is either using gonadotrophins which requires a series of injections but more often than not is in tablet form and relatively mild. For more information read here.
This is highlighted in the figure below, which shows that on average DIUI is successful in over 20% of treatments – more than double the monthly chance of conceiving naturally. As with partner IUI, success rates decrease slightly with age.
Overall Live birth rate (LBR) from DIUI according to age – showing an overall LBR of 20.1% for those 35 or under (includes cycles with or without drug stimulation)
Comparison of Live birth rate (LBR) between NUH Life and the National average for stimulated DIUI according to age
Live birth rate (LBR) from DIUI according to age - comparing stimulated (clomiphene and gonadotrophins) and unstimulated (no drugs) treatments
Is DIUI right for you?
This very much depends on the answers to the questions below. If you can answer yes to the following, then DIUI may be right for you. For more information on how the process works please read here.
- Are you under 40 years of age?
- Are you single, in a same sex relationship OR
- A heterosexual couple where male factor has been identified?
- Has your tubal patency test (HSG, HyCoSy or laparoscopy) shown that you have no sign of tubal disease and both Fallopian tubes are open?