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What is an ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection)?

For many couples experiencing difficulty in conceiving due to fertility-related issues, Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) proves to be the harbinger of hope and happiness. Although the advancement in science of human reproduction has increased the chances of success of all fertility treatments exponentially, the experts at Southend Fertility & IVF suggest the best suitable treatment to the couple that helps them conceive at earliest. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is one of the fertility treatment techniques that have delivered high rates of fertilization and successful pregnancyof up to 75-80%. ICSI is an Invitro Fertilization (IVF) procedure in which a single sperm cell collected from the semen of the male partner is injected directly into an egg of retrieved from the ovary of the female partner. This approach allows the embryologists to select best quality sperm and egg for fertilization. This procedure can be employed successfully not only in the regular cases of infertility, but also in the cases of previously frozen eggs and/or sperm, donor egg and/or sperm, surrogacy, etc.

Who should undergo an ICSI treatment?

This treatment procedure is best suited for couples with:

Unexplained infertility issues
Previously failed fertilization cycle using conventional IVF
Low sperm count
Abnormal sperm or sperm with low motility
Ejaculation-related issues where sperm has been retrieved surgically from epididymis/testes
High level of anti-bodies in sperm

The ICSI Journey to a Successful Conception

Initial consultation
Pre-treatment testing
Post-testing consultation and regularization of menstrual cycle
Preparing ovaries for producing several eggs
Ultrasound and hCG injection for final maturation of eggs
Collecting eggs and sperms
Fertilization inside the laboratory
Transfer of embryo into the uterus
Tests to check the status of conception/pregnancy
Early pregnancy care and follow-up

How is ICSI Treatment done?

The ICSI treatment which is known as Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection is considered to be the most successful form of treatment for infertility in males and is used in nearly half of all IVF treatments. In this treatment there is a requirement of one sperm, which is injected directly into the egg and after that the fertilized egg then transferred to your uterus. In this treatment a fertility doctor uses specialized micro manipulation tools as well as equipments and inverted microscopes that enables them to select as well as pick up individual sperm in a specially designed ICSI needle.

We use this treatment only for severe case of male infertility, and some of then use it in every case. The success rate in Pregnancy in vitro fertilization procedures with ICSI has been observed in some studies to be higher than without ICSI. This is because in many of the cases needing ICSI the female is relatively young and fertile (good egg quantity and quality) as compared to some of the women having IVF for other reasons.

In some cases it is used for couples that are facing the problem of low yield of eggs at egg retrieval. In this scenario, ICSI is being used to increase the higher percentage of eggs fertilized than with conventional insemination of the eggs that means mixing of eggs with sperm.