What is ICSI?
ICSI is a treatment primarily designed to overcome male fertility problems.
ICSI – Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection – is a refinement of the traditional IVF procedure. It involves the injection of a single active sperm directly into the egg to try to fertilise it. This differs from standard IVF, where the eggs and sperm are mixed together.
ICSI may be advised if:
- You have a low sperm count
- Your sperm has poor motility
- You are using sperm recovered through Surgical Sperm Retrieval
- Your sperm has high levels of DNA damage
- You have had previous failed fertilisation from IVF
- You are using previously vitrified eggs
- You are using donor eggs
How ICSI works
An IVF initial path
ICSI treatment starts out just like IVF. You undergo ovarian stimulation to produce mature eggs and your partner provides a sperm sample.
Identifying the best sperm
Our lab team will examine the sperm under a high-powered microscope, to identify which are the best quality. We look at factors like movement and shape. We carefully select active sperm and inject one sperm directly into each mature egg with the aim of fertilising the egg.
Fertilisation
Only mature eggs are suitable for injecting with sperm. Usually, around two-thirds of eggs collected are mature. Resulting embryos are monitored for signs of growth. The best embryo is then chosen for transfer.
Learning Centre
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