What is ICSI?
ICSI is when a single healthy sperm is injected into a good quality egg.
When is ICSI needed?
There are some reasons why ICSI may be recommended including:
- Severe male factor: insufficient sperm numbers, motility or morphology
- Sperm has trouble attaching to, and entering egg
- Conventional IVF (where healthy sperm and egg are incubated overnight) has not resulted in fertilisation
- Frozen or in-vitro matured eggs are being used
Will ICSI guarantee that I get a good embryo?
No. This is because there are several problems that can still occur along the way:
- Egg may be damaged
- Egg does not grow into embryo even after being injected with sperm
- Egg grows into embryo but stops developing/growing
Does ICSI affect my (eventual) baby?
The risk of having a birth defect with ICSI is similar to IVF but slightly higher than if you were to get pregnant naturally. If you got pregnant naturally, the risk of a major birth defect is 2-3%.
The risk of birth defects with ICSI is thought to be related to infertility and not ICSI itself.
