Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) to Assist Fertility

Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be used as part of an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment to help you and your partner to conceive a child.

ICSI treatment is the most successful form of treatment for male infertility and is used in nearly half of all IVF treatments. ICSI only requires one sperm, which is injected directly into the egg. The fertilized egg (embryo) is then transferred to your uterus (womb).

IVF has become a well-established treatment for certain types of infertility, including long-standing infertility due to tubal disease, endometriosis, unexplained infertility or infertility involving a male factor. Soon it became clear that certain couples with severe male-factor infertility could not be helped by conventional IVF. Extremely low sperm counts, impaired motility and/or abnormal morphology represent the main causes of failed fertilization in conventional IVF. In order to tackle this problem, several procedures of assisted fertilization based on micromanipulation of oocytes and spermatozoa have beenestablished. The evolution of these techniques started with partial zona dissection (PZD), followed by subzonal insemination (SUZI) and finally led to the procedure of intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI). ICSI represents the injection of a single spermatozoon directly into the ooplasm, thereby crossing not only the zona pellucida but also the oolemma.

How ICSI can help the couples ?

During ICSI the sperm doesn't have to travel to the egg or penetrate the outer layers of the egg. This means that it can help couples where the man's sperm:

- can't get to the egg at all

- can get to the egg, but for some reason can't fertilise it.

How is ICSI performed?

There are basically five simple steps to icsi procedure which include the following:

1. The mature egg is held with a specialized pipette.
2. A very delicate, sharp, and hollow needle is used to immobilize and pick up a single sperm.
3. The needle is then carefully inserted through the shell of the egg and into the cytoplasm of the egg.
4. The sperm is injected into the cytoplasm, and the needle is carefully removed.
5. The eggs are checked the following day for evidence of normal fertilization.

Advantages :

This procedure is a big door to parenthood that were earlier closed to some couples with a male factor fertility problem.ICSI gives men with a very low sperm count or other fertility problems a chance of transferring to their genetic child.It is possible to use immature sperm that have been retrieved from the man's testicles so ICSI can be used. ICSI can also be used to help couples with unexplained reasons.

Srishti Assisted Fertility and Advanced Laparoscopy (SAFAL),a specialty hospital who have been catering to fertility care.

Visit Us: www.fertility-clinic.in