If you are considering IVF or have already started the process, your doctor has probably already discussed ICSI with you.  ICSI stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection.  It is done to assist the fertilization process by injecting a sperm into an egg rather than letting it happen without any assistance.

ICSI is typically done when a man’s sperm sample shows low sperm count or poor mobility or motility.  Whenever any of these conditions are present, most doctors will discuss the ICSI option.  Without using ICSI there is little chance that an IVF will be successful because the sperm might not be able to penetrate the egg without assistance.  The ICSI procedure is also often used for unexplained fertility problems or if IVF has not been successful in the past.

Even if past sperm samples have not shown any fertility problems, your doctor should still discuss ICSI with you.  The sperm sample taken for the IVF procedure might show a lower count or poorer mobility or motility than past samples.  Therefore, your doctor will want to know where you stand on the issue incase the situation arises.  Some clinics will also do ICSI if only a small number of eggs were produced and retrieved to help assure success.

To do the ICSI process, a sperm sample is collected just as it is for an IVF process without ICSI.  The sperm is then washed and cleaned.  Under microscope, the embryologist will then hold the egg in place and helps the sperm penetrate the egg.  Once an egg is fertilized, the embryo is placed in an incubator until the day of transfer.

The cost of IVF with ICSI is not much higher than IVF done without ICSI.  IVF with ICSI costs an average of $1500-$2500 more depending on what clinic you are using.  Many couples are willing to pay this minimal cost as it does increase your odds of having a successful IVF procedure.

Latest studies show that children born through the use of IVF and ICSI are healthy.  In the studies, there has been a slight increase of birth abnormalities, but I must stress that this has been a very slight increase.  I would encourage you to do more research online about the clinical ICSI tests and talk to your clinic about any risks or any concerns that you might have.

For many couples, the only alternative to doing ICSI is to use a sperm donor or to do adoption.  Based on past sperm samples, your doctor should be able to discuss statistics regarding the possibility of success without using ICSI.

Of course, the decision as to whether or not to do ICSI is a personal one.  Before making a decision, it is always good to do plenty of research and weigh the positives and negatives of all your options.  Even if you have healthy sperm, you should discuss ICSI ahead of time incase you are faced with having to make this decision.  With the success rates of doing ICSI and IVF being so good even with couples with severe male fertility problems, the ICSI procedure has brought hope and choices to couples who would not have even had this option just 15 years ago.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 13th, 2006 at 1:26 am and is filed under Fertility. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.