What is ICSI?

Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) differs from conventional in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in that the embryologist selects a single sperm to be injected directly into an egg, instead of fertilisation taking place in a dish where many sperm are placed near an egg.  

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Is ICSI for me?

ICSI enables fertilisation to happen when there are very few sperm available.

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Your clinic may recommend ICSI if:

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• you have a very low sperm count

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• other problems with the sperm have been identified, such as poor morphology (abnormal shape) or poor motility (not moving normally)

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• during previous attempts at IVF there was failure of fertilisation or an unexpectedly low fertilisation rate

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• you need sperm to be collected surgically from the testicles or epididymis (a narrow tube inside the scrotum, where sperm are stored and matured); for example because you have had a vasectomy, you do not ejaculate sperm, or because you have extremely low sperm production

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• you are using frozen sperm in your treatment which is not of optimum quality

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• you are using embryo testing.