ICSI treatment in India

This is a technique used for male infertility, or for those patients where poor or no fertilization has been achieved after a cycle of IVF. The procedure is very similar to IVF. However, with ICSI a single sperm is injected into a single egg in the laboratory. The success rates are similar to those with IVF. Normally sperm is obtained by masturbation. Under certain circumstances sperm may be obtained directly from the testis by a minor operation.

Step by Step in ICSI

1.Drug Treatment to stimulate several eggs to mature
-- GnRH agonists to suppress all other hormone activity (injections/nasal spray for usually 2 weeks before gonadotropins & then a further 10-14 days depending on response); a new type of injection drug, known as GnRH antagonist, will reduce this treatment phase by more than a week
-- Gonadotropins to stimulate he growth of follicles & cause ovulation

2.Monitoring of treatment, to measure the growth of follicles, individualized drug doses & prevent serious side effects
-- By transvaginal untrasound scanning (2 or 3 times during a treatment cycle)
-- Sometimes by measuring hormones in a blood sample

3.Egg collection, usually under local anaesthetic, lasts between 10 & 20 mins
-- Guided by transvaginal untrasound
-- Collected thtough vagina (32-36 hours after final hormone injection)

4.Sperm sample, provided on the same day as egg collection. Sample can be obtained in a natural way or following aspirations from the spididymis (PESA/MESA) or extraction from the testis (TESA)

5.Fertilisation
-- One sperm cell is injected into a single egg
-- Eggs examined next day under microscope to see whether fertilisation has occured

6.Embryo transfer (usually 2 or 3 days after fertilisation)
-- Transvaginal transfer of no more than 3 embryos (usually 2)
-- Embryos placed in the womb
-- Good quality spare embryos are usually frozen

7.Pregnancy testing, monitoring