IVF with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in Cyprus

ICSI (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection) may be recommended when there is a reason to suspect that achieving fertilization may be difficult, even when the IVF procedures are used. ICSI is most often used with couples who are dealing with male infertility factors. Male infertility factors can include any of the following problems: low sperm counts, poor motility or movement of the sperm, poor sperm quality, or sperm that lack the ability to penetrate an egg.

There are basically five simple steps to ICSI which include the following:

1. The mature egg is held with a specialized pipette.

2. A very delicate, sharp, and hollow needle is used to immobilize and pick up a single sperm.

3. This needle is then carefully inserted through the shell of the egg and into the cytoplasm of the egg.

4. The sperm is injected into the cytoplasm, and the needle is carefully removed.

5. The eggs are checked the following day for evidence of normal fertilization.

Once the steps of ICSI are complete and fertilization is successful, the embryo transfer procedure is used to physically place the embryo in the woman's uterus. Then it is a matter of watching for early pregnancy symptoms. The fertility specialist may use a blood test or ultrasound to determine if implantation and pregnancy has occurred.

Overall, ICSI is a procedure we follow in cases where we suspect the sperm count or motility or the sperm quality will not be sufficient to fertilize the eggs on its own, therefore, we assist the sperm in fertilizing the eggs. At Cyprus Fertility Clinic, we use ICSI as a standard procedure, hence, it does not cost anything extra on top of the low cost IVF program.