Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection or the ICSI procedure is a method that involves injecting sperm into the cytoplasm of a cell.
Once joined, the sperm makes its way through the egg’s outer layer to the cytoplasm, where fertilisation occurs.Sperm may be unable to access the outer layer for various reasons. It’s conceivable that the sperm are incapable of swimming or that the egg’s outer layer is too thick or difficult to penetrate.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be used in combination with in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to help fertilise the egg in some cases. A single sperm is directly implanted into the cytoplasm of the egg during ICSI treatment.
FAQs about ICSI
HSG test is suggested for female fertility issues of the fallopian tube. If you’re having trouble fertilising because of male infertility issues, your doctor may suggest ICSI treatment. The following are issues that will make you resort to this treatment:
- The sperm count is low.
- Sperm motility is low.
- Sperm’s ability to access the egg has been reduced due to a previous failed IVF surgery.
FAQ 1: Is ICSI a viable option?
50% to 80% of eggs are fertilised using ICSI. However, the following issues may arise during or after the ICSI procedure:
- It’s possible that some or all of the eggs will be harmed.
- It’s possible that the embryo will cease developing.
- After fertilisation, a couple’s chances of having a single child, twins, or triplets are the same whether they do IVF with or without ICSI.
FAQ2: Can ICSI have an impact on a child’s development?
If a woman becomes pregnant naturally, her kid has a 1.5 percent to 3% risk of having a serious birth problem. ICSI has the same risk of birth abnormalities as IVF.
The slightly increased risk of birth abnormalities may be attributed to infertility rather than the procedures employed to overcome it.
ICSI has been linked to Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Angelman syndrome, hypospadias, and sex chromosomal abnormalities, among other diseases. They are estimated to occur in less than 1% of children using this method.
For example, male infants created through ICSI may have the same infertility challenges as their dads.
FAQ3: What is the difference between ICSI and IVF?
ICSI is a type of in vitro fertilisation. Your healthcare professional uses standard IVF to deposit thousands of sperm adjacent to an egg on a laboratory plate. It’s up to chance whether one of the sperm enters the egg and fertilises it. Conception (also known as fertilisation) does not occur if none of the sperm fertilise the egg.
ICSI is a technique that increases fertilisation by injecting a single sperm into a single egg. ICSI does not, however, ensure conception.
Your healthcare practitioner inserts the fertilised egg (embryo) into your uterus or womb in both ICSI and conventional IVF. If the embryo adheres to the lining of your uterus, you will become pregnant.
FAQ4: What is the cost of ICSI treatment in India
In India, the treatment costs roughly 1.2 lac INR. This includes the cost of the basic ICSI technique and any tests or scans that may be required during the treatment, excluding all costs of medicines and additional aftercare. Any specialty drugs used may incur an additional fee in any fertility centre in Delhi and pan India.
IVF may be used to fertilise an egg in two ways: conventional and ICSI treatment. Nearly 50,000 or more swimming sperm are put near the egg in a laboratory dish in classical IVF. When one of the sperm penetrates the cytoplasm of the egg, it fertilises it. A small needle called a micropipette is used to implant a single sperm into the centre of the egg during the ICSI procedure. After fertilisation, the fertilised egg (now termed an embryo) matures in a laboratory for 1 to 5 days before being transferred to the woman’s uterus via standard IVF or ICSI (womb).