WHO IS A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR ICSI?

Anyone who has been trying to conceive for at least a year without any luck might be a good candidate for ICSI, or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. ICSI is a type of Assisted Reproductive Technology that has proven successful for many couples who want to have a baby. This is especially true in cases where a couple has tried IVF to no avail.

Some things that could cause IVF to fail and make you a good candidate for ICSI are if during IVF attempts, an insufficient number of eggs could be retrieved or the eggs that were retrieved were not fertilized successfully.

Some couples are excellent candidates for ACSI.

Could ISCI Help You Get Pregnant?

ISCI might be able to help you get pregnant if:

• ŸThe male partner’s sperm is unable to reach the female egg
• ŸThe male sperm is able to get to the egg, but is unable to fertilize it for some reason

Your fertility specialist might be likely to recommend ICSI under certain circumstances. Here are some of the situations in which ICSI might be the treatment of choice for couples having infertility problems:

ŸAn extremely low or even zero sperm count.

• ŸSperm that cannot be ejaculated but can be collected from either the testicles or the epididymis, which is the duct where sperm are stored. This is helpful in cases where the man has had a vasectomy or trauma from injury or paralysis.
•  An extra high number of sperm that are abnormally shaped. Many sperm that aren’t shaped properly have low motility, making it difficult for them to reach the egg to fertilize it.
•  ICSI can help if a man has problems with premature ejaculation or is unable to get or sustain a normal erection, which could be caused by trauma or diseases such as diabetes.

Besides being helpful in male infertility, ICSI may be the treatment of choice for some causes of female infertility.

There are some advantages to ICSI as opposed to IVF.

Advantages of ICSI

ICSI may be used as a part of In Vitro Fertilization, or it may be used by couples who have experienced failed IVF attempts. One of the main advantages of ICSI is that it virtually eliminates male infertility since it injects the sperm directly into the female egg. This can solve male infertility caused by a number of common causes.

When IVF is attempted, there must be a minimum of half a million viable, mature sperm to fertilize one egg. Needless to say, this can be a big problem for men with a low sperm count. But with ICSI, one lone sperm can be injected directly into an egg for insemination and fertilization.

Besides being helpful in cases of male infertility, ICSI is also favored for women who don’t have many viable eggs, because it increases the chances of conception. ICSI is often successful in helping couples who are facing infertility problems to have a baby.