WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT WITH ICSI, INTRACYTOPLASMIC SPERM INJECTION?

If your fertility specialist has recommended ICSI, you may be wondering what is involved with the process of IVF with ICSI.

ICSI stands for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. The sperm are literally injected into the egg, with the goal of fertilization of the egg, good embryo development, implantation and pregnancy. Infertility patients may be advised to undergo ICSI treatment if:

• Previous IVF attempts have been unsuccessful, with a low percentage of eggs fertilizing,
• You have been diagnosed with male factor infertility
• You have been diagnosed unexplained infertility
• You have failed to conceive with Inseminations
• Frozen sperm from the partner or a sperm donor is being used
• You are using previously frozen eggs
• What to Expect with ICSI

It is important to understand that you must be undergoing IVF to use ICSI treatment.  The average length of an IVF with ICSI treatment cycle is 4-6 weeks. Utilizing IVF Denver treatments, the female partner or egg donor will be given fertility medicines to boost egg production. These drugs work by stimulating your ovaries to develop multiple mature eggs for fertilization.

Once your eggs are collected, they will be prepared for the ICSI procedure.  This is typically called “stripping” the eggs.  Stripping the eggs is a process where the granulosa cells surrounding the eggs are removed so the egg can more readily be seen for the injection procedure.

Once the sperm have been collected (or thawed if using a frozen sample), one sperm will be injected directly into one egg. After injecting the sperm into the egg, they are kept in a controlled laboratory environment for a few hours, until fertilization has taken place. The fertilized egg (called an embryo) is checked multiple times over the next few days until it reaches the blastocyst stage. At this stage, the fertilized egg or eggs are transferred into the female uterus, using a small catheter. Any extra embryos not transferred may be frozen.

After ICSI Treatment

Approximately 24,000 babies are born in the United States every year as a result of ICSI and is commonly used with IVF procedures.