Micro
insemination (ICSI)
Micro insemination is often abbreviated to ICSI,
which means Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection.
(ICSI)
ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic
sperm injection) is an assisted conception technique
which may be used where a male has only a few
live sperm or where sperm quality is poor or lacking
motility
It can overcome
problems in which a sperm cannot drill a hole
through the egg to fertilise it (for example,
because of abnormalities affecting the sac of
enzymes on the sperm head), and where anti-sperm
antibodies are present. It can also be used where
a male undergoing cancer treatment has previously
frozen a sample of his sperm, and wants to maximise
their potential use. ICSI has been used where
there is a blockage preventing release of sperm,
as the sperm can be obtained from the epididymis
(the tube leading from a testis) or from the testis
itself using a fine needle.
During ICSI, a
single sperm is injected directly into the white
(cytoplasm) of a mature egg using an ultra-fine
glass needle (pipette). The fertilised egg is
then observed until it has undergone a certain
number of divisions before being transferred into
the woman's reproductive tract.
A fertilisation
rate of 50 per cent is usual, with 80 per cent
or more fertilised eggs starting to divide as
normal. Factors such as the woman's age (and therefore
the age of her eggs) affect the success rate.
The average live birth rate is 22 per cent, per
embryo transfer, but the success of ICSI depends
on the skill and experience of its practitioners.
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