ICSI is also known as Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection. It is a kind of vitro-fertilization method. It involves fertilization of the female ovum with the help of sperm in the labs. The zygote is placed in the uterus of the woman by the process of artificial insemination which develops into an embryo. ICSI treatment is a procedure which is used only when the sperm count or motility is too low.
This procedure was first performed in the year 1992. This procedure involves the well-established procedure of injection a single healthy sperm is injected into the cytoplasm of an ovum with the help of an ultra-fine and super-advanced needle glass needle.
Also, this procedure is recommended only for those couples for whom IVF has not worked. It is a procedure of treatment in order to fertilize ova with poor qualify spermatozoa.
Scenarios in which ICSI can come to picture
- If the sperm count of a man is below the usual marque for male fertility of 20,000,000 sperm per ml of ejaculate. ICSI can now be used with the sperm count which as low as 1 or 2. This acts as a challenge for the person performing the in vitro fertilization.
- If the man has abnormally low mortality then this technique can come into the picture.
- If a man has a high incidence of antisperm antibodies which might result in some immunological infertility. The body is treated by the sperm as if it were some kind of bacteria or virus which sets up antibodies in order to destroy the sperm.
- If the man produces sperm but not during the ejaculation then it is called zoosperm. This can arise after a vasectomy that is failed or if the vans deferens is blocked and in these kinds of cases the sperm is surgically eliminated from the testes before the icsi treatment. Dr. Gautam Khastagir is an IVF specialist in Kolkata, who also looks after gynecological health problems.
How to get ICSI treatment success?
Icsi requires the woman to consume a course of fertility drugs before the treatment is being done. Which is done for ensuring that the ovaries of the woman are stimulated in order to produce ova that already has been extracted. The icsi treatment must always be performed on mature ova.
The ova can be incubated for three to six hours. If not matured then it can be kept in the incubator for some more time. When the ova is selected for use then a single sperm is usually rendered immobile. How? By getting its tail shaken with the use of glass needle which in turn injects the sperm to the ovum.
During this procedure, the sperm head is pipetted into the needle made glass. The ovum is held steady by the process of gentle suction from some other pipette. This is a very gentle procedure which involves the use of the micromanipulator. The elastic nature of the membrane of the ovum means the minute whole which is created by the glass needle closes quickly. The process is then repeated for as many ova and as many sperm possible.