Intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI is the process where a single live and healthy sperm is injected directly into the center of a woman’s egg. This procedure helps people experiencing infertility issues achieve a successful pregnancy. ICSI is commonly used to help couples who have failed to conceive in a previous IVF attempt and also to help couples suffering from male infertility issues with fertilisation.
Conception is a complicated process and many factors can affect a person’s ability to conceive causing infertility. For a sperm to fertilise an egg the head of the sperm needs to attach to the outside of the egg. Once attached the sperm pushes through the outer layers to reach inside the egg which causes fertilization.
The Process Of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
The process of Intracytoplasmic sperm injection involves the person supplying the eggs to receive medication injection that stimulates the ovaries to produce multiple eggs at once to mature. These developed eggs are then retrieved using transvaginal ultrasound technology by inserting a thin needle through the wall of the vagina into the ovaries.
The sperm sample is taken and prepared by spinning or centrifuging through a special process. This process separates the live sperm from all of the dead, unhealthy sperm and other materials that are present. A single live healthy sperm is selected and picked up in a glass needle which is then injected directly into the egg for fertilization.
Reasons To Do Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection can be recommended or done for a variety of reasons and is necessary in cases of male factor infertility with an abnormal semen analysis. Other than male factor infertility ICSI can also be done for previously failed or poor fertilization with IVF, unexplained infertility, variable sperm counts, and other factors that cause the inability of the sperm to enter the outer layer of the egg.
How Successful Is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection?
Getting an IVF with ICSI has a much more successful fertilization rate than just doing IVF and ICSI on average fertilizes 50 to 80% of the eggs this process is performed on. Although it is important to remember that this process cannot guarantee a 100% success rate as even when the sperm is directly injected into the egg fertilization may not occur.
Fertilization is also a complicated process and in ICSI on average every eight out of ten eggs fertilize normally. Even after fertilization has occurred the egg needs to attach itself in the uterine lining to develop into a fetus and cause pregnancy.
For more queries you can always consult with the best doctor of IVF in North Bengal.