Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a specialized form of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) that is used primarily for the treatment of severe cases of male-factor infertility. ICSI involves the injection of a single sperm directly into a mature egg.

This medium contains hyaluronan (HA), which binds sperm that is more likely to have normal DNA and thus allows the selection of these bound sperm for injection. By selecting the sperm that are bound to HA and using them for ICSI, the embryologists are preferentially using the better-quality, more mature sperm. This technique using HA is standard practice with no additional cost to the patient.

When do you need ICSI?

From a patient perspective, undergoing an ICSI treatment cycle is exactly the same as a conventional IVF cycle, and the same steps are involved.

Circumstances in which ICSI may be appropriate include:

• When the sperm count is very low
• When the sperm cannot move properly or are in other ways abnormal
• When sperm has been retrieved surgically from the epididymis (MESA/PESA) or the testes
• (TESE/TESA), from urine or following electro-ejaculation
• When there are high levels of antibodies in the semen
• When there has been a previous fertilisation failure using conventional IVF.