ICSI is the procedure whereby a single sperm is injected directly into an egg. It is most commonly used in situations where there are male infertility problems.
Some reasons for ICSI include:
Sperm completely absent from the ejaculate (azoospermia)
Sperm present in low concentrations (oligospermia).
Poor sperm motility (asthenospermia)
Poor sperm morphology (teratospermia)
Sperm retrieved by surgical techniques (for example TESA, TESE)
Problems with sperm penetrating the egg.
Frozen sperm limited in quantity
Antisperm antibodies
Previous failed or poor fertilisation
Unexplained infertility
On egg collection day, the male partner will be asked to provide a semen sample. The embryologists will then place a small quantity of washed sperm into a petri dish containing a special subtance which will slow the movement of the sperm so that the morphology can be assessed.
The embryologist will decide which sperm have the most average morphology and they will then prevent that sperm from moving by removing its tail with a needle.The sperm are sucked into the needle ready to be injected.
It is at this stage when the skill level of the embryologist is most important because the selection of the sperm is a huge factor in how strong the embryo will be. If a poor quality sperm is selected for ICSI then it is likely that the embryo will also be low quality. The embryologists at Cyprus IVF Centre have more than 30 years combined experience and are exceptionally talented.
Once, the sperm is ready and waiting in the needle, the egg is placed under a microscope and held using tiny instruments known as micromanipulators, microinjectors and micropipettes. The pipette stablises the mature egg on one side while a needle is pierced into the other side. The needle is loaded with a single sperm from earlier in the process and the sperm is expelled into the oocyte.
On completion of the ICSI procedure, the fertilised egg is placed into a culture medium and put back into the incubator to develop.
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