and medical expertise, which will have a higher cost. ICI attempts to simulate natural insemination, without the sexual element. It is painless and is the simplest, easiest and most common method of artificial insemination, and can be performed in the home, either by the female on herself or with non-professional assistance. ICI involves the introduction of unwashed or raw semen into the vagina at the entrance to the cervix, usually by means of a needleless syringe. The sperm for insemination may be provided by either a sexual partner of the female’s choice or by a sperm donor. Donor sperm is most commonly used by lesbian couples, single women, and heterosexual couples when the male partner is suffering from male infertility. There have been situations where a female has been inseminated with sperm collected from a female’s partner before him going off to war or even harvested after he has already died. There are laws in some countries which restrict and regulate who can donate sperm and who is able to receive artificial insemination, and the consequences of such insemination. Subject to any regulations restricting who can obtain donor sperm, donor sperm is available to all women who, for whatever reason, want or need it. Some women living in a jurisdiction which does not permit artificial insemination in the circumstance in which she finds herself may travel to another jurisdiction (a 'fertility destination') which permits it. (See Sperm donation laws by country.) Artificial insemination has been and continues to be commonly used in livestock breeding as an efficient way of increasing production. Other forms of insemination In various other animal species, sperm can be introduced into the female's reproductive tract by various means. For example, in some species of hemiptera sperm can be introduced violently by traumatic insemination, parenteral injection through the body wall. In some species of animals, sperm finds its way through the body wall when the spermatophore is left in contact with the female's skin, such as in the onychophora (velvet worms). See also Assisted reproductive technology Conception device Fertilisation Fertility fraud Internal fertilization Sperm bank Sperm donation Sperm theft Traumatic insemination References External links Photos of a Honeybee's insemination Animal sexuality Reproduction in mammals Semen