Artificial
insemination is the injection of
semen into the vagina by instrumental means.
Artificial insemination in
humans was first reported in the late 19th century. Much of its early use occurred in secrecy. It was not until the freezing of semen became technically feasible and reliable in the early 1950s that artificial insemination in humans became more widespread. The first human progeny from stored spermatozoa was born in 1953. Today, over 65,000 children born in the United States each year are the products of artificial insemination.
Artificial insemination is
used to achieve pregnancy when an anatomical impediment prevents direct fertilization. When the male is sterile, semen is collected from a donor who is free of genetic and infectious disease. In cases where a woman is unable to conceive as a result of defective oviducts, an egg can be removed surgically from her ovary and fertilized in vitroÑthat is, in a petri dish under laboratory conditions that simulate the environment inside the oviduct, where fertilization normally takes place. The embryo is then transferred to the woman's uterus to develop in the usual manner.
In recent years artificial insemination has been used as a means of providing a child to a couple where the woman cannot conceive. The husband's
sperm is used to fertilize a surrogate mother, who has volunteered to bear the child, usually for a fee, and to give it up immediately after its birth.
In 1998 physicians announced a successful method for selecting the sex of a baby produced by artificial insemination. Because the human X, or female, chromosome, has 2.8% more DNA than the Y, or male, chromosome, the sperm can be sorted by the amount of DNA they contain; the X
batch contains about 85% X-bearing sperm, while the Y batch has about 65% Y-bearing sperm. The woman can then be inseminated with either batch, depending on which gender is desired. This technology is being used for couples who have sex-linked genetic disorders, but it was originally developed for farm animals.
Artificial insemination in humans has raised complex legal, religious, social, and ethical questions regarding the nature of parentage, the rights of natural parents, and eugenics issues. Advances in reproductive technology have preceded resolution of such issues.
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