Intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI is an alternative method of fertilising eggs in IVF .It is used when there are very few spermatozoa to fertilise the eggs or in past sperms have failed to fertilise the eggs. It can also be used in men who can’t ejaculate sperm but do produce them as well as those who had a vasectomy in past.
There is no difference in the process followed in ICSI as compared to conventional IVF except for the the method in which eggs are inseminated.
Sworn is collected either by ejaculation or by surgical sperm retrieval as prepared so that healthiest sperm are used for ICSI.The embryologist looks at the sort s through the microscope and chooses the best ones . The healthy sperm are injected into each mature egg using a special microscope using micromanipulators. Next day the eggs are checked for fertilisation. The cycle can be a fresh embryo transfer or a frozen embryo transfer just like in conventional IVF.
The advantage of ICSI is that it offers males with very low sperm count or motility or morphology a chance to father a biological child. However the process involves manipulation of eggs and thus a possibility of damage ,ICSI isn’t advised for all the infertile couples.Male children born from ICSI are at a slightly increased risk of inheriting infertility disorder themselves.
