Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

Micro insemination, also called intracytoplasmic-sperm injection (ICSI), is a specialized form of IVF-treatment. For micro insemination, eggs are collected from the woman. Then a single sperm cell is injected directly into the woman’s egg under the microscope. This method has been used since 1992 and is different from standard IVF treatment where the eggs are fertilised by introducing lots of sperm cells to each egg.

When is ICSI used?

ICSI is used for the following reasons:

For poor-quality sperm, i.e. very few live sperm cells and where the man’s sperm cannot fertilise an egg on its own
If sperm is removed from the testicles (TESA)
If very few or no eggs have been fertilised during previous IVF treatments.

How ICSI is carried out

1. The woman receives hormone stimulation

It is important to have several ripe eggs for ICSI or IVF. Therefore, the woman receives hormone stimulation in order to ripen several eggs at the same time.

2. The woman comes in for egg retrieval

When the eggs are ripe they will be retrieved. The entire procedure takes 20 minutes. Under ultrasound guidance a fine needle is advanced into the ovary and the eggs are sucked out. Once the eggs have been retrieved, they are immediately taken to the laboratory where they are prepared for fertilisation.

3. The man provides a sperm sample

The man provides a sperm sample at about the same time that the woman comes for egg retrieval. The sperm sample is then washed in the laboratory to obtain as many high-quality sperm cells as possible.

4. Fertilisation and cultivation of eggs in the IVF laboratory

Sperm cells are selected in the laboratory and injected into each egg. This is done under the microscope using a glass syringe. When the eggs have been fertilised, they will be placed in an incubator, i.e. an advanced “nesting box”. Even by the next day, we can see how many eggs have been fertilised. We can track the development of the embryos over the following days. The eggs remain in the incubator for a maximum of five days.

5. Transfer of the fertilised eggs

The embryos are transferred to the womb. This transfer only takes a few minutes, and the embryos should attach to the lining of the womb (the endometrium) and develop. Fourteen days later, the woman does a pregnancy test to check whether the ICSI process has been successful.

Risks of micro insemination?

Before commencing treatment, a doctor from StorkKlinik will go through all the risks with you during a personal consultation. Our main focus is on minimising all the risks that are connected with IVF and ICSI, including the development of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

Some women are more sensitive than normal to hormone stimulation and form large numbers of follicles. Symptoms of OHSS include abdominal bloating and pain as well as nausea and shortness of breath. The symptoms disappear within a few days.

During egg retrieval, there is a risk of inadvertent damage to organs or bleeding. Following egg retrieval, there is a risk of infection that will manifest as fever, pain or a foul-smelling discharge.

During ICSI, one or more embryos are transferred to the womb. This increases the risk of a multiple pregnancy, i.e. twins.

The chance of becoming pregnant through ICSI

The chance of becoming pregnant through micro insemination primarily depends on the age of the woman. For women aged 30–39, about every third treatment cycle results in pregnancy.

Further topics you might be interested in

hInteresting topics

Consultation

Insemination

IVF

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