How are IVF and ICSI similar?
ICSI is similar to IVF as eggs and sperm are collected from each partner or donor. On the day of egg collection, an embryologist inseminates the eggs and the following day selects out those that are fertilized. They are kept and monitored in an incubator for up to five days and the best embryos are transferred into your womb to implant.
What is the difference between IVF and ICSI?
ICSI differs from IVF as each egg is individually injected with a single sperm, bypassing the stage where the sperm has to naturally penetrate the egg.
When is ICSI used?
ICSI is usually performed in the following cases of male infertility
- Where the Sperm Count is said to be low – i.e, the
- Low Sperm Morphology – i.e, defect in the anatomy of the sperm
- Low Motility – i.e, in cases where the sperm movement is not normal or moves in other ways
- Where anti-sperm antibodies are found to be high in the semen
- Or if the patient has previous undergone Vasectomy and Vasectomy reversal has been unsuccessful
- Infectious diseases or infertility caused by immune factors
- Retrograde ejaculation
What ICSI offers
ICSI treatment offers men with very few sperm (oligospermia), no sperm (azoospermia) in their semen but has had successful surgical retrieval of sperm, or high numbers of abnormal sperm that are unable to fertilize an egg, the chance of having their own genetic child with their partner. For patients using frozen sperm, or who have had a previous failed cycle due to low fertilization, it also offers the chance of achieving a pregnancy.