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Donor sperm treatment is advised to be performed with frozen-thawed donor semen. A disadvantage of frozen-thawed semen is lower pregnancy rates compared to inseminations with fresh semen. Semen parameters affect ongoing pregnancy rates in intracervical inseminations with frozen-thawed donor semen. In an attempt to translate this into clinical relevance, cohort studies have tried to find cut-off values for semen parameters after thawing for intracervical insemination, but these studies assessed only one semen parameter per study, thereby overlooking the intricate interplay between all semen parameters. We performed a retrospective cohort study and tried to calculate thresholds for all semen parameters that lead to the best possible ongoing pregnancy rates in intracervical insemination with frozen-thawed donor semen. Between April 1999 and December 2015, data from 1,186 women who underwent 7,103 cycles of intracervical insemination with donor semen from 129 sperm donors were available for analysis. Our results showed that total motility and total motile count (TMC) after thawing were associated with ongoing pregnancy rate. The best possible ongoing pregnancy chances after intracervical insemination were obtained at a total motility of ≥20% and a total motile count (TMC) of ≥8 × 106 after thawing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are unmet needs for psychosocial counselling, peer support and friends/family support in parents directly and/or indirectly related to the mental health of parents and their donor-children? A cross-sectional sample of 214 parents participated in this quantitative study via an online questionnaire. The sample comprised mothers and fathers in a heterosexual relationship (n = 85), mothers in a lesbian relationship (n = 67) and single mothers (n = 62). Parents were recruited via three Dutch fertility clinics and four network organizations. Unmet support needs were measured with an adapted version of the Unmet Needs for Parenting Support questionnaire, changing the original items into items about donor conception. The items were derived from a qualitative study and checked by experts in donor conception. The parents' mental health was measured with the Adult Self Report and the donor-children's mental health with the Child Behaviour Checklist. A multigroup mediation analysis was conducted to explore relationships between parents' unmet support needs and their child's mental health, with the parents' mental health as a possible mediator. There were no direct relations between parents' unmet support needs and the mental health of donor-children. Unmet needs for psychosocial counselling, peer support and friends/family support for parents and children's mental health were indirectly related through the mental health of the parents: 0.074 (CI 95% = 0.013–0.136; P = 0.017), 0.085 (CI 95% = 0.018–0.151; P = 0.036) and 0.063 (CI 95% = 0.019–0.106; P = 0.013), respectively. We recommend that fertility clinics, network organizations and authorities for infertility counsellors make their support available to parents for extended periods after their treatment. Further qualitative studies are necessary to assess how to relieve unmet support needs during donor sperm treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]