IVF ICSI Procedures

There are of course, many factors that go into determining how successful IVF ICSI procedures will be. One of these factors is the quality of the eggs produced by the female. Other factors can include the skill of the individual who is performing the infertility procedure and that of the clinic itself. Fertility clinics differ on when ICSI procedures are used. Some clinics use the procedure when IVF procedures have failed, normally after several attempts, while other clinics use the method more exclusively for problems that involve severe male infertility.

While fertility clinics vary, some recommend IVF ICSI procedures for specific situations. Some of the situations are when couples are faced with male infertility that is severe and are not looking to use a sperm donor and for couples who have used IVF and have had no luck with fertilization or a low percentage of their mature eggs were fertilized. It is also used when couples have had IVF in the past and have produced very few eggs during the retrieval process. When ICSI is used in this instance, it is to attempt to produce a higher amount of eggs that will become fertilized. The success rate for in vitro fertilization methods that include intracytoplasmic sperm injection have shown, in several studies, to be higher than that of IVF used alone. The normal reason for this is that most times the women involved were young and considered fertile.

The success rate also differs with IVF ICSI, depending on why the procedure is being used. In cases of low egg counts in women, the success rate is normally lower. This is simply because the viability and quality of the embryos produced is dependent on the quality of the eggs produced. When a couple is faced with infertility problems such as these, intracytoplasmic sperm injection coupled with in vitro fertilization may make it possible for them to conceive a child. At times, in cases of severe sperm abnormalities, a sperm donor may be used to fertilize the sperm. With the help of ICSI, it is sometimes possible to forego this procedure.