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19.12.2018 09:33:23
With ICSI, only one sperm is injected inside an egg. This method of artificial fertilization is justified, first of all, when the sperm quality is very poor. Below you will find information about the process itself and the chances of success.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, abbreviated ICSI, is a specific type of artificial fertilization outside the body, i.e. in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Drug pre-treatment which lasts up to egg collection does not differ from the one used with IVF. At first, egg maturation is stimulated with hormonal preparations. If the follicles in which eggs mature, reach a certain size, the eggs ready for fertilization are retrieved from the ovary. On the same day, in the case of the ICSI technique, using a thin glass capillary, a single sperm is injected right into the cytoplasm of a mature egg. This method, successfully used since 1992, is also called microinjection.
Immediately after microinjection, the egg is placed in the incubator. The day after ICSI, one can see how many eggs have been fertilized (i.e. are in the pronucleus stage). Further development up to the embryo also takes place in the incubator and lasts a maximum of five days. Then the embryo is implanted into the uterus.
There are various circumstances when the ICSI method is better suited for couples than IVF. For example, one of the reasons may be low sperm mobility. Also, if fertilization does not occur during IVF, ICSI is a good opportunity to get pregnant.
The chances of success with ICSI depend mainly on the woman’s age. At the age of 30, the chances are about 40%, at the age of 35-38 ‒ about 30-35%. This means that every third cycle of such procedures leads to pregnancy.
ICSI is associated with approximately the same risks as IVF. For example, the intake of hormonal preparations prior to the procedure can lead to abdominal pain, nausea or breathlessness. In addition, anaesthesia is never without risks, and during egg collection the organs can be accidentally damaged. In most cases when implanting more than one embryo into a woman’s uterus, multiple pregnancy occurs.
