For people who are planning to have a child for years but cannot due to infertility, ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) will lead to a successful pregnancy. The IVF (in vitro fertilization) is mostly helpful when there are infertility issues in the male. In ICSI treatment, the embryologist inserts the sperm directly into an egg to increase the chances of fertilization. It might lead to a pregnancy after a successful embryo transfer.
How is ICSI Treatment Different from IVF Treatment?
ICSI is a type of IVF process. In the IVF procedure, the doctor will inject the selected sperm into the cytoplasm of the egg in the lab and monitor it to fertilize for 3 to 7 days. If none of the sperm fertilizes the eggs, then pregnancy will not happen. The ICSI process, on the other hand, promotes fertilization by directly injecting the sperm inside a single egg. It makes the chances of pregnancy higher where the embryo will successfully attach itself to the uterus lining. Almost 6 out of 10 conceptions occur through the ICSI process in IVF.
What are the ICSI Treatment Procedures?
In ICSI, doctors directly inject a single sperm inside an egg centre. However, most people do not know why ICSI is needed. This process is perfect for couples where the male partner has infertility or has failed in previous IVF attempts. This process does not include the fertilization barriers and thus gives the couples some hope to achieve a successful pregnancy with the help of a fertilized embryo.
In the first step, the female partner has to go through ovary stimulation so that there is a development of numerous matured eggs. The doctors prescribe some fertility medicines for this purpose. Later, the expert aspirates the eggs through the vaginal cavity with the help of a USG and incubates them in an embryology lab under suitable conditions.
The doctor then prepares the semen sample with the help of spinning or centrifuging the cells in a special medium. It will separate the live sperm from the dead ones and other debris. The embryologists will then collect the live sperm in a glass needle and inject it directly into the cytoplasm of the egg.
FAQ
What is ICSI treatment’s success rate?
ICSI enhances the fertilization possibility with a success rate of 50 to 80%. However, the success rate of the ICSI depends on the eggs used, the age of the woman patient (preferably under 35), and how they will fertilize.
What is the Importance of the ICSI Procedure?
Most people need to learn the answer to why ICSI is needed and how it can benefit them. Well, ICSI treatment helps couples who cannot bear children due to male fertility-related issues with improved fertilization rates. The process helps to enhance the fertilized egg number for freezing or embryo transfer. It also improves the successful insemination chances in IUI. Below, we have mentioned examples of some male patients who can benefit from ICSI treatment.
- Lower sperm count
- Issues with sperm mobility
- Sperm development problems
- Blockage, like vasectomy, prevents the sperm from getting ejaculated
- Retrograde ejaculation, or the sperm flowing backwards inside the bladder
Men who do not have any problems like sperm development, mobility, or count can also become candidates for ICSI treatment. It is also a perfect option for those couples who want to test for genetic problems in an IVF or want to maximize the total number of high-standard embryos from single egg retrieval.
End Words
If you, as a couple, are encountering numerous difficulties in conceiving a child, then it is best to opt for ICSI. If you still want an answer about why ICSI is needed, then it is simple. With proper egg retrieval and stimulation, sperm collection, embryo creation in a laboratory, and successful embryo transfer, you can become a parent with the help of ICSI technique.
