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Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
In the simplest of terms, ICSI involves injecting the male sperm directly into the egg. This is a treatment method that aids male patients who suffer from infertility.
How Does ICSI Work?
The treatment involves the embryologist capturing the best quality sperm and injecting it directly into the egg- it only takes ONE sperm to get the procedure done!
Who should be treated with ICSI?
This course of treatment is very flexible in its use- there is no standard ailment that calls for it, and it can be used in many cases! While some centres choose to go for it in all cases, others only use it to treat severe male infertility. That being said, ICSI is a preferred method of treatment for ailments such as azoospermia, low sperm count, low motility and fertility ailments for which the cause cannot be determined.
In the last decade, ICSI has evolved to become a commonplace treatment procedure. It is expected for this course of treatment to become a lot more prevalent in the years to come.
The most common reasons for performing ICSI
- Severe male infertility.
- Low sperm count in male patient
- A low sperm motility, usually less than 35%
- Poor morphology of sperm
- History of unsuccessful IVF treatments
- Inadequate egg yield during retrieval (ICSI is used to increase the number of fertilised eggs in this case)
How the process works
- The egg is kept in place using a specialised holding pipette.
- One sperm is collected and picked up using a needle.
- The needle is inserted through the egg shell and the cytoplasm is assessed.
- Following this, the needle is removed and the eggs are then examined to check fertilisation progress.