ICSI or intracytoplasmic sperm injection
ICSI or Intracytoplasmic sperm injection differs from IVF in that we select a single sperm and inject it directly into an egg. This differs from conventional IVF, where fertilisation takes place in a dish where many sperm are placed near an egg.
Originally developed for the treatment of male infertility, we do ICSI to achieve egg fertilisation in a third of patients who may have male factor problems.
We’ll discuss this option with you, based on a detailed assessment of your sperm parameters such as concentration or count, motility, morphology and anti-sperm antibodies (MAR test).
We offer Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) to couples who have male fertility problems. Problems like a low or absent sperm concentration, motility, morphology or presence of anti-sperm antibodies.
Any couple offered ICSI will follow their personalised treatment plan. As with IVF, this will involve the use of fertility drugs and injections to prepare and stimulate your ovaries. They are carefully monitored until the eggs are mature to be egg collected.
On the day of the egg collection, we’ll advise the male partner to produce a semen sample. We will carefully prepare, assess and then select suitable sperms under the microscope for insemination.
Some men have no sperm in the ejaculate, yet we might still be able to help them father a pregnancy. A lack of sperm could be due to problems with sperm production or blockage in the passage.
To help these men, we can do a careful surgical extraction of the sperms from the epididymis or testis (Surgical Sperm Recovery). Then, we inject one sperm into a collected egg under the guidance of an ultra-high magnification microscope.
We treat the harvested eggs with sperms and replace the embryo(s) into the womb two to five days later. We’ll then ask you to take a pregnancy test a few weeks later. We’ll book successful patients for a pregnancy scan in three to four weeks time.
At London IVF and Genetics Centre, we offer and IVF money-back guarantee for a selected subgroup of patients. Suitability will be ascertained based on clinical information provided at the initial consultation. We also provide cost effective multi-cycle packages.
