There are times when couples with infertility problems visit a fertility clinic to seek help for pregnancy. The chances are high that they may be advised to go for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) instead of in vitro fertilization (IVF). It is presumed that ICSI has a higher success rate than IVF and in some cases, it is critical to use it for successful pregnancy. Similarly, there are various circumstances that make doctors suggest ICSI.
What Is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)?
A woman’s egg requires a man’s sperm for fertilization, and when the sperm joins the egg, fertilization happens. Nevertheless, fertilization normally happens in the fallopian tubes when the sperm cell is successfully attached to the egg cell and joins it by pushing through the outer layer to the cytoplasm.
When the sperm fails to enter the egg for it cannot swim or penetrate the egg’s outer layer, one needs to undergo a treatment called intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI, which includes a technique of using a holding pipette, a type of glass needle, to inject a single, healthy sperm directly into the egg’s center or cytoplasm. Those couples with acute male factor infertility or previous failed IVF attempts are helped achieve pregnancy by ICSI.
Under the ICSI procedure, the woman partner undergoes fertility medications for ovarian stimulation to develop mature eggs. The eggs are then drawn using vaginal ultrasound through vagina and incubated in the embryology laboratory under conditions conducive for embryos to flourish. Next, the sperm cells using centrifuging is washed to separate the live sperm and prepare the semen sample. Out of this sample, a single live sperm is picked and injected into the egg in the incubation by the embryologist and then, transferred to the woman’s uterus.
How are ICSI and IVF as Infertility Treatment Procedures Different?
Both ICSI and IVF treatment procedures are similar from the ovarian stimulation and retrieving of matured eggs from the woman partner or donor for incubation to the sperm collection. The ICSI treatment process differs from here that a single live sperm is directly injected using a glass needle into the uterus by the embryologist. Alternatively, in the IVF procedure, the sperm and eggs are placed in a petri dish in the lab and monitored for fertilization. In both ICSI IVF techniques Once the eggs are fertilized, the best embryo is chosen and implanted in the uterus.
Also, Read: Things You Need to Know About ICSI
When Is ICSI Used?
ICSI is primarily used to treat male-factor infertility, in which case a male partner’s semen does not meet the normal parameters in the count, shape and mobility. The couples who have male-factor issues find this procedure highly beneficial. There are other instances when ICSI is recommended by doctors.
- When the man cannot produce enough sperm for artificial insemination.
- The sperm does not move in a normal way or has poor mobility.
- The male reproductive tract has a blockage that the sperm cannot get out.
- The woman’s egg fails to fertilize in the conventional IVF technique despite the fact that eggs are of good condition.
- In cases where normal viable sperm are not available; instead, the sperm are extracted using percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) or testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) procedures.
- In cases where there are innumerable antibodies in the semen.
- When using previously frozen eggs.
How Far Is ICSI Successful?
Infertility is an important clinical problem today and about 8-12 percent of couples are affected by it. Among the infertility cases, roughly 40-50 percent is considered to be male-factor infertility. About 2 percent of men is found to have suboptimal sperm parameters, which may be because of the poor sperm motility, low sperm concentration, or abnormal morphology, or a combination of all. ICSI can help overcome this by directly injecting a single sperm into a woman’s egg.
With ICSI, the sperm is helped overcome many of its natural barriers that it would encounter during fertilization. The procedure is found to be effective in couples, where the male partner has an extremely low sperm count and the likely of fertilization is low using the IVF procedure for the sperm cannot swim to reach the egg. Under the ICSI condition, the success depends on the embryologist finding healthy sperm to inject into the central part of the egg.
When it comes to treating the male-factor infertility in India, there are the best ICSI Hyderabad hospitals that take care of your need and budget. The ICSI Bangalore treatment centers could cut down the failed fertilization percentage by more than a half, preventing the instances of canceled cycles. For couples with infertility cancelled cycles after the retrieval of eggs are heartbreaking. This is owing to the high cost with every additional cycle, the aggravation of additional cycles, and going without the biological tie of a father by using a donor sperm.
In case you are still confused about the infertility treatment, get in touch with the best ICSI Chennai treatment centers for a free consultation.
Also, Read: Success Rate Of ICSI
