Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

What is ICSI?

ICSI is a laboratory technique used when successful fertilisation of the egg cannot be achieved with a standard IVF procedure. Used in conjunction with IVF, ICSI involves direct injection of a single sperm into the egg (see picture below). ICSI involves the use of highly sophisticated equipment and many hours of work by a scientist.
All ICSI procedures involve use of a product called Vitrolife Hyase 10. This product has not yet received formal approval from the Therapeutics Goods Administration for use in Australia; however, it is widely used in clinics across Europe and the USA and is not known to pose any health risk to your embryos

When is ICSI needed?

ICSI can be used when:

• the number of sperm available is too few to expect fertilisation;

• fertilisation has not occurred in previous IVF cycles despite a high number of sperm being present;

• the only sperm available are those which have been collected direct from the testis (see following).

Remember that not all eggs are suitable for sperm injection; for example, they may be immature and may not survive the injection process

ICSI / IVF splits

Sometimes, it is not possible to say in advance whether ICSI will be necessary to achieve fertilisation of your eggs. An ICSI / IVF split involves treating half of the eggs with ICSI and half with IVF. In this way we can find out if ICSI is really necessary while still ensuring that if IVF does not work you at least have some fertilised eggs for transfer. An ICSI/IVF split is normally only done if 12 or more eggs are collected. If fewer eggs than this were collected then ICSI would be carried out on all the eggs.
The cost of this procedure is set at approximately halfway between the cost of full ICSI and IVF.

Collecting sperm direct from the testis with a needle

Some men produce no sperm at all in their ejaculate. In these cases, sufficient sperm can sometimes be obtained by testicular sperm aspiration to treat their partner's eggs with ICSI.

The procedure involves an insertion of a fine needle under local anaesthetic so that the sperm may be sucked out into a syringe from a small tube at the back of the testis. Sometimes it is necessary to put the needle actually into the testis itself. Any sperm obtained may be used fresh, or frozen for later use in ICSI.