News & Events

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is another advancement made in assisted reproductive technologies that offer a higher level of control and precision in culturing embryos through IVF. It was first successfully implemented in 1992 but isn’t widely understood even today. If you were advised to opt for an ICSI Treatment in Thane by an infertility specialist, there are a few key aspects of this technique that you must know to make an informed decision.

Here, we explain those key aspects in detail while demystifying some common misconceptions and misinformation about its nature.

ICSI Does Not Alter The Natural Fertilization Process:

In the natural fertilization process during reproduction, as the sperms flow through the fallopian tube and reach an egg, they have to break through a cell membrane known as the ‘cumulus oophorus’ that envelopes the egg. All the sperms try to dissolve a passage through this cell wall using the enzyme called Acrosin to enter the egg.

However, once a sperm successfully penetrates the egg, this cell wall instantaneously hardens and evolves to become impenetrable for other sperms. This process requires a significant amount and quality of sperms and eggs for a successful fusion. Consequently, men with low sperm count or weak sperms and women with low egg capacity have a lower chance of egg-sperm fusion, even through an IVF cycle.

ICSI was developed as a technologically advanced solution to ensure that this fusion occurs without failure. It involves the micromanipulator machine that manually positions the egg and inserts a single sperm into it with an ultra-thin needle.

The rest of the fertilization process occurs naturally in a controlled environment, just as in an IVF process.

ICSI Is Performed As A Part Of The IVF Process:

As it differs from the IVF method of culturing an egg, ICSI is often thought to be an alternative to IVF treatment, which is a misconception. ICSI technique is an additional step to the conventional IVF procedure, which is recommended when the chances of pregnancy are much lower.

During IVF, about 50,000 sperms, or according to the availability, are placed with one or multiple eggs in the hope that one of them would fuse with the egg.

But with an ICSI procedure, the sperms can be extracted directly from the testes, and the embryologist can choose a healthy sperm with a good DNA fragmentation index. This single sperm can be manually fused with the egg, eliminating the dependency on the sperms’ ability to fertilize the egg.

ICSI Is Primarily Performed To Tackle Male Infertility Issues:

Though it can be recommended to any couple based on their unique infertility problems, ICSI is mostly recommended to tackle certain male infertility issues.

It is advised to a couple when the male partner:

• Has a low sperm count or motility
• Is unable to ejaculate
• Has developed anti-sperm antibodies
• Had a vasectomy or unsuccessful vasectomy reversal
• Has undergone treatments for cancer, such as chemotherapy
• Has unexplained Infertility disorder that isn’t clearly diagnosed

ICSI Involves Minimum Complications:

Like any natural pregnancy and IVF process, ICSI involves some risks of congenital disabilities, such as Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome and sex chromosome abnormalities. But these are extremely rare cases that occur less than 1% of the time.

It mandates additional genetic screening tests such as PGS and PGD to scan the embryos and sperms for genetic defects or diseases.

Conclusion

ICSI has proven to be a promising addition to the IVF process for improving the chances of pregnancy in couples who are older than 35 years of age or suffer from severe infertility disorders. Our expert Dr. Chinmay Patki genuinely understands the patient’s medical and personal problems before advising them to undergo an ICSI Treatment in Thane, Kalyan, Ambernath, Badlapur, or any other part of Mumbai.

The Akruti IVF center is equipped with the latest tools and technology to perform such advanced ART procedures under one roof. To know if the ICSI treatment is suitable for you, reach out to our infertility experts for a personal consultation.