ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Americas

Initial 30 Minute Video Conference with a Fertility Specialist Medical Doctor

IVF ICSI Cryopreservation Oocyte Donation

This price is ICSI IVF. Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a modification of the in vitro fertilisation (“Test-tube baby”) technique where the egg is fertilised outside the body by injecting the sperm directly into it. The embryo(s) are then introduced back into the woman’s uterus in the same way as for IVF. ICSI is typically suitable for several groups of patients, such as: - Men with abnormal semen parameters. - Couples with previous poor fertilisation using IVF. The woman is given fertility drugs to stimulate her ovaries and the development of several mature follicles. Each of these follicles may contain an egg. The recruitment and development of the follicles is regularly monitored by ultrasound scans and blood tests. This is to ensure that the ovarian stimulation is both safe and effective. Our fertility specialist performs the embryo transfer procedure. The selected embryos are introduced, through a fine catheter, into the woman’s uterus. Typically 2-3 embryos are transferred depending on the patient’s circumstances. The embryo transfer procedure takes no more than half an hour and few women experience any discomfort. The first ICSI baby was born in 1992 and subsequently many babies have been born through this technique.

The egg donation programme was set up to link women that wanted to donate their eggs with those couples that need donated eggs. A woman might need donated eggs for a number of reasons: - Premature ovarian failure - Genetic reasons for not using her own eggs, i.e. some diseases are transmitted genetically. - Older women who have had previously unsuccessful fertility treatments The donors are usually between 21 and 35 years old and donate altruistically to a known or an anonymous recipient. The woman donating her eggs is given fertility drugs to stimulate her ovaries and the development of several mature follicles. Each of these follicles may contain an egg. The recruitment and development of the follicles is regularly monitored by ultrasound scans and blood tests. This is to ensure that the ovarian stimulation is both safe and effective. The pregnancy rate for those treated using donated eggs is 35 % per treatment cycle at Barbados Fertility Centre. However, the success rate is dependant on many factors, such as the number and quality of the donated eggs.