Almost a year and a half. This is the average time for recourse to medical assistance to procreation (AMP) with sperm donation in France, according to figures from the biomedicine agency published in 2023. In question: the explosion of requests and the low number of cum donors. So to save time, and for a bunch of other reasons, heterosexual couples, lesbian couples and single women turn to a parallel market: that of craft insemination, a practice of carrying out an insemination outside of the medical framework.
If there are many Facebook groups and specialized forums putting in sperm and recipient donors, it is difficult to measure the extent of the phenomenon. But just on a single forum, around forty requests are published every day. However, artisanal insemination is illegal in France, and people who have recourse there are a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros. Why do so many people choose this path despite the many risks they involve? And how does an artisanal insemination go concretely? 20 Minutes conducted the investigation.
Sperm in a jar and pipette of doliprane
The artisanal insemination consists, for the donor, of ejaculating in a sterile pot, often a bottle of urinary sample bought in pharmacies, then giving this container to the recipient. The latter will take the sperm using a pipette before injecting it at the bottom of the vagina. Most of the time, they use syrup pipettes in Doliprane or Advil, but can also use conventional syringes purchased in pharmacies or “insemination kits” sold on the web, especially on Amazon. On a Facebook group, a “serial donor” delivers his advice to a woman wishing to go through this process: “No need to get off. The elongated position is sufficient, a cushion under the buttocks will be more than enough ”. Before adding: “Once the insemination has been made, you have to stay lying for about 15 minutes and it’s good”.
There are two other methods. The first, called “semi-artisanal”, comes down for the donor to masturbate and then, just before ejaculating, to penetrate the recipient. The second is based on a “classic” sexual intercourse with vaginal penetration. On the Donnernatural.com forum, the majority of men condition their donation to natural or semi-natural insemination. Conversely, women generally ask for an exclusively artisanal gift. “I didn’t want to sexualize the thing,” says Sophie, 35, mother of a little girl from an artisanal insemination. I was not looking for one evening, a boyfriend, a dad but genetic equipment. »»
“He did his business in the room while I was waiting in the corridor”
On the day of her insemination, Sophie had made an appointment to her donor in a hotel room she had reserved. “I let him do his business while I was waiting in the corridor. He then went to the restaurant and gave me room in the room. I did the insemination all alone, then I went home. Matthieu*, a 35 -year -old donor, is more used to ejaculating directly in the syringe. “After the gift, I leave it in the bathroom and I leave. For her part, Marjolaine, who became the mother of a little boy and a half boy thanks to an artisanal gift, preferred to be three hours on the road with his van and his partner to go directly to the donor. “It was already huge what he was doing, I was not going to ask him to move. »»
But meetings are not always pleasant. Julien, a 25 -year -old donor, has a bad memory of one of his first experiences. “I went to the girl who lived in a small unhealthy apartment. She told me to donate in the toilet of an MCDO. I refused, I am not an animal. The young man says he had to run away. “She then harassed me on the phone and I ended up blocking it. On the receiver side too, bad meetings are legion. Often much more dramatic, between the risks of sexual violence and infection by sexually transmitted disease … The health authorities insist on the dangers of artisanal insemination (which we will speak of in a future article **).
The short lifespan of sperm
Once the donation is made, the recipient quickly injects the seed, because the lifespan of the sperm in the open air does not exceed thirty minutes. It also targets a period close to its ovulation peak. But there are few to obtain a positive test from the first try. “For the child from my donation who was born in October, it took four essays,” illustrates Christophe, a single father of 43 years.
Going back and forth that can cost the donors or receivers dearly. So some people opt for another tactic. “To multiply the chances, I stayed three days: the day before ovulation, the day of ovulation and the next day, and we made two daily inseminations”, explains Sébastien, a “serial donor” of 38 years having Make more than fifty donations. In the medical context, only one insemination is authorized by cycle. Marjolaine and his partner also tried to maximize their chances. “At the last moment, we realized that we were ovious at the same time and we decided to make an insemination each. A failure for the forties. A success, from the first time, for his lover.
A time saving
If so many people turn to this illegal process despite the risks it has, it is because the medical route has, in their eyes, important drawbacks. The average time to take care for an AMP with sperm donation was, as we said, from 15.5 months to the national level in 2023, according to the biomedicine agency. A delay that could not be expected to wait for Marjolaine, aged 43 when she wanted to have a child with her partner, met two years earlier.
On the other side, artisanal insemination can go fast. Sometimes really very quickly. On the forums, many messages request an “urgent” donation. “My donor had to come this evening because positive ovulation test this morning, but he had an impediment I am looking for a donor for at the latest tomorrow evening”, post for example a woman on a Facebook group.
No attempted limit
Another detail: AMP is reserved for women under the age of 45. But you still have to be accepted. Erica*, who wanted a single child, was only 34 years old when she sent an AMP request. A request that led to a refusal two years later. “Even if they didn’t tell me, I think it was because my ovarian reserve was too weak. They surely didn’t want to spoil the donor sperm since there are few. »»
Even if they manage to benefit from an AMP, some women do not manage to get pregnant through this, health insurance reimbursing six attempts at artificial insemination and four in vitro fertilization trials per pregnancy. Women using the “house” method will be able to carry out as many inseminations as they wish.
Less restrictive and medicalized
In addition, if the AMP is fully reimbursed by social security, many doctors practice fee overruns. Couples or women who do not have a good mutual must then get their hands on the wallet. And the sum can quickly climb. Artisanal insemination is supposed to be completely free. Only the costs of transport and accommodation of the donor are often paid by the receivers. “One of the women I helped still told me that a man asked him 3,000 euros to make this donation,” said Sébastien.
Marjolaine, who thought she never becoming a mother, loves telling her story and is full of praise on his donor. “As he knows that we want a second child, he is waiting to have a tattoo, in case it contaminates, and to use a vasectomy. »»
* The first name has been changed
** This article is the first of the three chapters that make up our investigation into craft insemination.
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