ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Worldwide

Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into anegg; this procedure is most commonly used to overcome maleinfertility

Invitro fertilization In vitro fertilization (IVF) or Test tube babyprocedure is the joining of a woman’s egg and a man’s spermoutside the body: in vitro, in a laboratory dish. IVF is a majortreatment for infertility when other methods of assisted reproductivetechnology have failed.

ICSI, or Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, is a micromanipulation technique developed to help achieve fertilization for couples with severe male factor infertility or couples who have had failure to fertilize in a previous in vitro fertilization attempt (IVF). The procedure overcomes many of the barriers to fertilization and allows couples with little hope of achieving successful pregnancy to obtain fertilized embryos. The procedure was first used at UCSF in 1994 and the first successful birth, achieved with ICSI assistance, was in February 1995. UCSF was the first San Francisco Bay Area program to achieve a pregnancy and birth with this “miracle” procedure. How ICSI Works The technique involves very precise manoeuvres to pick up a single live sperm and inject it directly into the centre of a human egg. The procedure requires that the female partner undergo ovarian stimulation with fertility medications so that several mature eggs develop (IVF). These eggs are then aspirated through the vagina, using vaginal ultrasound, and incubated under precise conditions in the embryology laboratory. The semen sample is prepared by centrifuging (spinning the sperm cells through a special medium). This solution separates live sperm from debris and most of the dead sperm. The micromanipulation specialist picks up the single live sperm in a glass needle and injects it directly into the egg. Through the ICSI procedure, many couples with difficult male factor infertility problems have achieved pregnancy. Fertilization rates of 70-80% (of all eggs injected) are currently being achieved, and pregnancy rates are comparable to those seen with IVF in couples with no male factor infertility. Pregnancy rates in our unit are 48 – 50%, depending on the woman’s age.

ICSI is a technique that has been developed to assist fertilisation when sperm quality is particularly poor. Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) involves injecting a single sperm directly into an egg in order to fertilise it. The fertilised egg (embryo) is then transferred to the woman’s womb. The procedure for ICSI is similar to that of IVF, but instead of fertilisation taking place in a dish, the embryologist selects sperm from the sample and a single sperm is injected directly into each egg. The injected eggs are checked the day after to see if fertilisation has occurred.

Egg donation or ovum donation is a possible solution for women: who cannot produce eggs due to menopause or have been diagnosed with premature ovarian failure (POF) - also referred to as premature menopause or early menopause above age 37 who have been repeatedly unsuccessful with IVF, particularly if it is known that the infertility is not male factor who carry a genetic disorder they do not wish to pass on to their child who have had multiple unexplained miscarriages