This is a technology to enhance the chances of pregnancy. Only one perfect and healthy sperm is selected and injected with a small diameter needle directly into the oocyte. The ICSI method can help increase the fertilization rate satisfactory results and reduce any problems of abnormal fertilization, such as fertilization from many sperms and the inability of those sperms to penetrate into the oocyte shell by themselves, etc.
ICSI procedure
It starts with an injection to stimulate the oocytes on the 2nd day of the menstrual cycle. The injection process takes about 9-14 days. During this period, the doctor will make an appointment for an ultrasound to follow on the size of the oocytes. When the oocytes grow to the right size, they will be taken out through the vagina. Then, the sperms are collected on the same day from the man and separating only the complete ones by a specialist. After that, the ICSI process will begin in the embryo culture laboratory. A small diameter needle is used to inject the sperm directly into the oocyte. When the oocyte and the sperm are fertilized, an embryo is born. Next, the embryo will be fed until the 5th day, called the Blastocyst stage. In this stage, if the embryo grows well and strong, the doctor will make an appointment for the patient to transfer the complete embryo back into the uterus for its continuous growth in the womb of the woman.
ICSI is suitable for:
– Females with an abnormality of fallopian tubes that are constricted or blocked on both sides
– Females with abnormal ovulation
– Females with endometriosis or lots of fibrosis in the pelvic floor
– Females with thick oocyte shell, thus inability of a sperm to penetrate and fertilize
– People with genetic abnormalities
– Unexplainable infertility
– Males with infertility problems or low sperm volume or unhealthy / immature sperm, which would be taken out of the sperm tube or the use of testicular tissue
– Couples who are not ready to have children immediately and would like to deposit the embryo until they are ready, then the embryo will be taken out to dissolve and put back into the uterine cavity
How is IVF different from ICSI?
The difference between IVF and ICSI is on the fertilization process. In IVF, multiple eggs and sperms are mixed in a culture dish. The sperms naturally swim to fertilize the oocytes. Meanwhile, ICSI involves using a needle to inject a sperm directly into the oocyte. ICSI may be more successful and suitable for a man with weak sperms or when the sperms are unable to penetrate the oocytes by themselves like in the IVF method. Therefore, ICSI has a higher success rate.