ICSI: Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

ICSI treatment has allowed couples where there is a significant male factor problem to achieve treatment success similar to those with other causes of subfertility. Prior to its introduction in 1992, these couples would have not achieved fertilization or very low fertilization rates using standard IVF techniques.

Couples prepare for ICSI in the same way as for standard IVF, namely ovarian stimulation and egg collection. The procedure is done under an inverted microscope. At Sunrise we take pride in having the latest lab equipment and cutting-edge microscopes. A single motile morphologically normal sperm is carefully identified, picked up using a tiny pipette and carefully injected directly into the cytoplasm (center) of each mature egg. Sunrise is proud to have one of the highest fertilization success rates among fertility centers in the region. The fertilized eggs are then identified and the embryos are allowed to develop in the latest multi chamber incubators or in the highly advanced time lapse incubator, the Embryoscope unit.

With ICSI, very few sperm are required because this process involves the direct injection of the sperm into the egg.

It is therefore recommended in these cases:

• When the sperm count is very low (Oligospermia)
• When the sperm has low motility (asthenospermia)
• When the sperm has high percentage of abnormal forms (teratospermia)
• When sperm has been surgically retrieved directly from either the epididymis (the coiled tubing outside the testicles which store sperm) or testicle itself
• When there are high levels of antibodies in the semen that can affect fertilization
• When there have been previous cycles with low fertilization or fertilization failures.
• When there is a high level of sperm DNA damage