Trying to conceive when male has vasectomy

[Diane1983]

Hi There,

I am trying to find out some information about how we can conceive when the male has had a vasectomy.

My soon-to-be husband was previously married and had 2 children, he had a vasectomy after the second and not long after him and his wife got divorced. When he had his vasectomy, he had a lot of complications with it and was in the hospital for a week. He really wants us to have a child together but he doesn't want to get his vasectomy reversed and have to go through all that torture again. Especially when the chances of it being sucessful are slim. He mentioned getting a donor, but if there is a way, I would like for him to be the biological father. Does anyone know if there are any other possibilities?

Thanks

[Annie]

:wave:
I know that sperm is still produced, although it doesn't mature the same or something -- there is a method for doing this, but if I remember correctly, it is is expensive and requires you do in-vitro. Let me see if I can find more on this...

DI (donor insemination) is a wonderful option too!

[Annie]

Found some! And your story is so simular to my own!!

Sperm retrieval and IVF
The procedure consists of a surgical procedure where sperm is extracted from the male partner's testes. It is not well defined whether the elapsed time after vasectomy has any influence on the outcome of IVF–ICSI using epididymal sperm.

This surgery can be done ahead of time and the sperm or tissue could be frozen or it can be done fresh on the same day as the egg retrieval. The sperm is injected into the egg, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI, and the fertilized eggs are placed back into your uterus. A pregnancy test can be taken two weeks later to determine pregnancy.

Risks
Risks include ovarian swelling or hyperstimulation. There is a chance for complications of the egg retrieval, which is rare but may include bleeding or damage to the ovary. There is a 20 to 30 percent chance of a multiple pregnancy. The rare possibility of damage to the testicle or sperm can result from the sperm extraction.

More: http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/17/3/736

Donor Insemination:
http://www.maternitycorner.com/mcmag/articles/fertility/didecision.html

Have you been to a reproductive specialist yet??

[Diane1983]

No I haven't been to a specialist yet. We only just started discussing it. But we do plan to talk to a professional about it, would just like to know some information about it first.

So I would have to do an in-vitro? Even though I am able to get pregnant myself? I thought that maybe they could take it from him and then do an artificial insemenation? Or is that what in-vitro means?

[Annie]

I'm not totally sure -- although what I've seen seems to indicate that it needs to be combined with IVF :huh: Maybe has to do with sperm quantity and quality? There wouldn't be a whole lot of "swimmers" if they are getting them surgically I presume? So they would select the best and use that.

IVF = In-vitro fertilization -- the egg and sperm are put together in a lab and the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus

Donor Insemination -- donor sperm is used and then an IUI or ICI is done (intra-uterine insemination or intra-cervical insemination)
IUI or ICI can use a donor or the partner's sperm.

[coletted]

I did boot camp with a infertility doctor last year (well the last couple of summers) and we had this discussion once. He did say everything Anne said, you would have to do IVF and because we were working out I didn't get into the specifics. I did ask about IUI, but for some reason he didnt' seem to indicate that was the best option. I think part of the reason is they want the best outcome and doing an IVF would usually give you better results than an IUI. I think you should definitely schedule yourself an appointment with an infertility specialist and go from there.

colette