ICSI treatment in Ukraine

The male factor of infertility is found in approximately 40-50% of all cases, according to statistics. The reason for this, in most cases, is the low sperm count. As a result, conception in a natural way is impossible. And even carrying out fertilization in artificial conditions does not always allow to obtain a viable embryo. In these cases, the best solution is a special assisted reproductive technology ICSI.

ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, is an artificial injection of sperm directly into the egg. What is the difference between traditional IVF and ICSI? IVF (in vitro fertilization) is a basic procedure based on the fertilization of an egg in laboratory conditions, followed by placement of the embryo in the uterine cavity of a woman. ICSI is performed as an additional part of an IVF treatment. With this approach, the union of a mature egg and sperm is carried out according to a complicated scheme.

The procedure includes the selection of full-fledged mature oocytes and active morphologically full-fledged spermatozoa. Spermatozoa can be isolated from sperm. In this case, it is enough to detect even one viable spermatozoon in the sperm and place it in a micro-tool needle. If no spermatozoa can be detected in the sperm, it is possible to take them surgically from the man’s testicle. The sperm sampled for ICSI is immobilized. The especialist places the most viable spermatozoon into the cytoplasm of the egg. A fertilized egg is placed in an incubator with 5% CO2 at a temperature of 37 ° C.

The ICSI procedure is indicated for male infertility. This procedure is recommended in the dollowing cases:

• Decrease in the number of spermatozoa (oligospermia).
• Decrease in sperm mobility (asthenospermia). 
• An elevated number of abnormal spermatozoa (teratozoospermia).
• Absence of spermatozoa in the seminal fluid (azoospermia), in which they can only be obtained using a biopsy of the testicle.
• Previous failed IVF attempts.
• Presence of antisperm bodies.
• Woman's age: after 40 years, the egg shell can become more dense, because of which even full-fledged sperm can not penetrate this barrier.

At the preparation stage, a woman is prescribed a course of hormones, aimed at stimulating ovulation. This will allow you to get a larger number of mature eggs for effective fertilization. In addition, the ICSI procedure is also possible in the natural cycle of a woman. The preparation of a man involves the correction of lifestyle, the treatment of discovered diseases that affect the ability to conceive, as well as restorative therapy. Sperm collection for the ICSI procedure is usually done naturally, as with spermogram delivery, however, surgical intervention (TESA) may be required in some cases.