Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

ICSI is a procedure where sperm is injected directly into the egg(s) to achieve fertilisation during IVF treatment.

ICSI differs from IVF only in the way that the egg is fertilised. Instead of putting the sperm and egg together in a petri dish as in IVF, with ICSI treatment we inject a single sperm directly into the egg. This can significantly improve the chance of fertilisation if there is a low quality sperm issue.

Could ICSI be right for me?

ICSI can help to overcome certain male infertility problems including:

• When sperm are unable to penetrate or fertilise an egg
• Low sperm count or poor sperm quality
• A blockage or anatomical abnormality in the male’s reproductive tract that prevents him from producing or ejaculating sperm
• Men who require a testicular or epididymal biopsy in order to conceive (such as after a vasectomy)

We might recommend ICSI instead of conventional IVF if:

• The quantity or quality of your sperm is unsuitable for conventional IVF treatment
• Your sperm has been collected surgically
• You’ve had low fertilisation with IVF treatment previously, or haven’t been able to fertilise at all
• The egg you’re using was previously frozen.

Even if there are no issues your sperm, your consultant  may still recommend ICSI with IVF. ICSI has been proven to help improve success rates for couples that have not been successful with IVF in previous cycles.