Therapeutic Donor Insemination (TDI) Procedure Handout

Therapeutic Donor Insemination (TDI) involves the insertion of a flexible catheter into thepatient’s uterus, and the injection of washed sperm. Sperm washing increases sperm motility by removing seminal fluid and immotile sperm. Sperm washing is accomplished by using a centrifuge to separate the sperm cells from the seminal plasma. The healthier and motile sperm that remain may then fertilize the woman’s egg cells.

A TDI insemination (IUI) treatment plan at Pollin is NON-OHIP and is $1250. This fee covers your blood and ultrasound monitoring, along with the sperm preparation fee. If your plan includes medication(s), there will be an additional cost. Your Primary Care Team will guide you on estimated costs for this.

• On your Patient App, you will be prompted to pay for your IUI plan once you have selected your plan. If medication(s) are part of your IUI plan, you will be prompted for medication payment once you have initiated your cycle.
• Any invoice requests can be directed to your Primary Care team.

Please make sure that the donor sample arrives at the clinic by cycle day 5 the latest as sample are only accepted Monday through Friday until 2:00pm.

TDI is processed 7 days a week on an appointment basis. You will sign the Sperm Thaw consent form to thaw your frozen sample. This consent will be sent to you through DocuSign once you are scheduled for the insemination.

Infectious Diseases (ID) Blood Work

Before initiating your IUI plan, you and your male partner have up to date ID blood work. ID blood work is valid for 12 months, as regulated by Public Health standards. If an update is required, this must be updated prior to day 1 of an IUI cycle.

IUI Consent

Your Primary Care Team will send you the IUI Consent via DocuSIgn, where you and your partner can review and sign the consent electronically. This must be signed by the time prior to day 1 of your IUI cycle.

Semen Sample Thaw for IUI

Once the IUI has been ordered by your physician, you will receive a semen sample thaw verification appointment booking. You must come onsite to verify your donor sperm identification with our Andrology Lab staff. Once completed, our Andrology Lab staff will begin the preparation/thawing of your donor sperm sample. Available appointments are between 7:30 to 8:30 am on the morning of your scheduled IUI.

You will then return later that morning for your scheduled IUI procedure. On the weekdays, IUIs occur between 11 am to 11:30 am. On the weekends, IUIs occur between 10:30 am to 11 am. On the day of your IUI, the female patient will receive an appointment booking through the Patient App. You will be asked to book for a Semen sample thaw verification appointment. Available appointments are between 7 to 8:30 am. The purpose is for you to sign off on the thaw of the sample. This verification appointment confirms and consents to the Andrology team that you will be proceeding with your insemination that day. Once completed, the Andrology team will then thaw and prepthe frozen semen sample for your IUI.

Your scheduled IUI procedure

• Weekday IUIs are booked between 11:30 am to 12 pm.
• Weekend IUIs are booked between 10:30 to 11 am.
• Please arrive 10 minutes before your IUI appointment.
• Please arrive with a full bladder - drink 4-5 cups of water 1 hour prior to your IUI procedure appointment.
• Please check in at Patient Concierge and be seated in our Waiting Area.
• A clinical admin team member will greet you and guide you to an ultrasound room to change into a gown and slides.
• The clinical admin team member will bring in your prepared IUI sample and verify you and your partner’s name on the sample vial. You will need to verify and sign paperwork to confirm the correct sample.
• The procedure is performed by a physician and takes approximately 10 minutes.

After your IUI

After your procedure, you are welcome to lie down for a few minutes but it is not necessary. Lying down does not increase the chance of fertilization. It is normal to experience vaginal discharge afterwards. It is not sperm coming out of you.

There are no special precautions after your IUI. You may resume normal activity. You may have intercourse.

It is normal to experience spotting or mild abdominal cramping due to ovulation after your IUI. It is also normal to not experience spotting or cramping. Neither predicts pregnancy and is simply how your body responds to ovulation and the IUI.

Since a catheter is inserted into the uterine cavity during the IUI treatment, there is always the risk of a pelvic infection following the treatment. Symptoms of an infection include fever, vaginal bleeding, chills and abdominal pain. If any of these symptoms occur you should contact your Primary Care Team. If you should have any difficulty in contacting your Primary Care Team, you should proceed to the emergency department of the nearest hospital.

We ask that you avoid the following:

• Smoking/vaping and recreational drugs
• More than 1 cup of coffee per day
• More than 1 standard alcoholic drink per day is okay until you are confirmed pregnant, then no amount of alcohol is safe
• Extreme, strenuous exercise that raises your heart rate over 140 beats per minute for more than 60 minutes. We encourage regular moderate physical activity, with a rise of 140 beats per minute for 30 minutes per day
• Saunas, hot tubs, pools and hot yogas

If luteal support or progesterone supplementation is a part of your treatment plan, please start your progesterone medication as instructed by your nurse. Do not stop until advised by your nurse. If you run out of medication before your pregnancy test date, do not stop, please advise your Primary Care Team.

We recommend that all pregnancy tests are completed no sooner than 14 days after ovulation. If you have taken Ovidrel as part of your treatment cycle, you will receive a false positive pregnancy test up to 12 days after taking it. This means if you complete an early home pregnancy test, you will receive a false positive result. Some people will get an "implantation bleed" known as spotting and some people do not - both are normal. The 2 week wait can be challenging mentally and emotionally. If you are having a difficult time, please connect with us.

‍