Using ICSI Technology To Help Male Infertility

The objective behind developing micromanipulation techniques was to deliver the sperm into the egg to solve the problem of infertility in males. ICSI technology i.e. intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is also among these techniques. However, it is more advanced. The process of ICSI needs merely one viable sperm instead of using a number of good quality sperm like in IVF, GIFT and ZIFT. This sperm may not be highly motile or have some specific structures for the normal penetration into the egg. The only requirement for sperm in ICSI process is that it must be viable and have normal morphology.

ICSI is a process in which a specially developed single sperm is injected into a mature egg with the help of a high-powered microscope. This process is used to effect fertilization.

The cumulus and coronal layers are removed from the egg by the embryologist. The sperm is prepared by washing them in a special kind of solution. Thereafter, search for the most motile and viable sperm is done by using high-powered magnification. On finding a viable sperm, it is injected into the stabilized and prepared egg after the sperm is drawn up into a very fine needle with the help of high magnification.

The usefulness of ICSI technology is very clear from the fact that only single sperm is required. Thus, it may prove really helpful for men with low sperm count. Since, to form one embryo, one good sperm and one good egg are needed. Another less obvious idea is that viable sperm can be found in other parts of the reproductive tract of males having low or absent sperm count. Thus, their chances of becoming a father increases as ICSI can use sperm even from different parts of the male reproductive tract. The only condition is that the sperm must be alive. It does not necessarily have to be motile, since this process is not dependent on motility to get sperm to the egg and via the egg’s zona pellucida (outer covering).

Testicular biopsy and ICSI may also prove beneficial for those men who produce live sperm but these sperm are then disposed of in the body. Besides this, even if an otherwise viable sperm is produced, then these sperm are not able to penetrate an egg. Thus, technology is helpful to even for these men.

ICSI technology has also been used in various other spheres where the objective is to maximize fertilizations ranging from inexplicable infertility to save the eggs, which have been harvested but failed to fertilize. It has also been reported that ICSI may prove helpful in cases where quality of eggs is reduced or even questionable in some cases.

Lately research is being done to extend the benefits of ICSI by making it useful for men who cannot produce sperm and have zero sperm. Thus, overall it can be concluded that the ICSI process may be counted as a promising technology for men for biologically fathering a child.

Next article: Intrauterine Insemination - Useful Information

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