Insights into IVF Vs. ICSI
The birth of Louise Brown, the world\’s first \”test-tube baby on July 25, 1978 introduced IVF to people around the word. IVF (in vitro fertilization) is a fertility procedure which involves collecting eggs and sperms from a couple and placing them together in a laboratory environment. Usually up to three fertilized eggs (embryos) are transferred into the woman\’s uterus where implantation and development will occur just as in a normal pregnancy. The average success rate per IVF cycle is approximately 20%.
IVF may be administered if the woman is infertile because of a hormonal imbalance, unable to produce eggs, or damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. An infection or scarring within the metra and the presence of a tumor may cause her chances to get pregnant unsuccessful. More over, the older a woman is, the less likely she will be able to get pregnant naturally.
Nevertheless, if a woman is unable to bear children it is not necessarily due to her infertility. According to the National Institutes of Health, USA low sperm count is the root of the problem among 30% – 40% of infertile couple. The common grounds for male infertility include deterioration in the number of the sperm and problems with ejaculation. Male infertility is usually diagnosed by a semen analysis.
The man supplies a semen sample for a laboratory to analyze. The laboratory will analyze the amount of semen and the number of sperm, and to study sperm shape and mobility. Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was used in 1992. It is a fertilization method that can be used to treat lady who cannot get pregnant by in-vitro fertilization.
ICSI can be used to help man and woman who had unsuccessful fertilization after standard IVF procedures or could not be accepted for IVF technique as there are a very small number of sperm cells or severe sperm abnormalities are present. ICSI helps man and woman who do not want to use donor sperm, as it gives them a greater probability of success using the man\’s own sperm.
It is used to help couples where the man has had an irreversible vasectomy, or has no sperm in his semen due to missing tubes or blockages in his reproductive organs. This is useful for men with very low sperm counts. Sometimes it is possible to retrieve a few sperms from a man who has none recorded during semen analysis by taking a testicular biopsy under anaesthetic.
A sperm cell is injected directly into an egg in the hospital with the aid of a microscope and special instruments. Thus the sperm does not have to move to the egg or penetrate the outer layers of the egg. ICSI can aid men who have difficulties with sperm motility or the sperms are unable to penetrate the outer coat of the egg for some unknown reason.
ICSI is truly an advanced IVF method that increases the successful level of pregnancies by increasing the number of eggs that are fertilized. Normal fertilization happens in probably 75-85% of eggs injected with sperm. (Advance Fertility Centre)
Learn more about IVF Treatment and differences between IVF and ICSI.