ICSI — Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
A single best sperm injected directly into each mature egg. Used when conventional IVF fertilisation is unlikely to succeed — primarily severe male factor.
What ICSI Does
Standard IVF lets sperm find and fertilise the egg in lab dish. ICSI bypasses this — the embryologist directly injects one selected sperm into one egg using micro-manipulation tools. It dramatically improves fertilisation rates in male factor infertility but offers no benefit (and adds cost) when sperm parameters are normal.
When We Use It
- Severe oligospermia, asthenospermia, or teratospermia
- Prior IVF with failed/poor fertilisation
- Surgically retrieved sperm (TESA/PESA)
- Frozen sperm where motility is reduced
- Selected cases of unexplained infertility
We do not use ICSI for ALL IVF cycles. ICSI for normal sperm parameters offers no improvement in outcomes and inflates cost.
