ICSI / ICSI (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection)

The ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is a process that works by placing a specific selected sperm through the egg membrane into the egg via a special needle. ICSI may be administered to eggs that have been collected by IVF treatment, and ICSI therapy cannot be administered without IVF treatment. In the standard IVF procedure without ICSI, the egg and the sperm are placed in the same environment, and the fertilisation process is expected to take place by sperm fertilising the egg itself. To increase fertilisation success in our centre, we apply the ICSI process for all our IVF treatments free of charge.

Since the ICSI process is a factor that increases the number of embryos per egg and the number of embryos formed, we routinely apply the ICSI procedure in all of our IVF treatments. However, in some centres, the ICSI process is only implemented if necessary. In cases where, medically, the fertilisation success of the eggs will be very low, ICSI is a must. The situations in which ICSI is required are summarised below:

• Severe sperm function disorders
• Presence of anti-sperm antibody (a problem with the immune system)
• When there is no sperm in the semen and the sperm is retrieved with surgical methods
• Use of frozen sperm
• Eggs are not fertilised at the expected rate in the previous IVF treatments
• Couples with unsuccessful attempts in previous IVF treatments
• In the presence of a sexually transmitted disease in a male patient
• If the membrane of the egg (zona) is thick
• If the eggs are collected before they are fully developed (IVM)

The ICSI procedure is performed during fertilisation after the eggs are collected. Before the ICSI procedure, the sperm sample taken from the male patient is evaluated and the best sperm in terms of mobility and structure are selected.

Eggs collected during the egg collection process, which is a stage of IVF, are taken to the embryology laboratory, and they become ready for fertilisation after their outer membranes (zona) are cleaned with a particular procedure. In order to prevent the selected sperm from moving inside the egg and disrupting the genetic structure of the egg, the tails of the selected sperm are rendered ineffective in the laboratory. The egg is fixed by a special ICSI manipulator (also known as an ICSI microscope and device), and the selected sperm is injected into this unicellular egg with a special needle. This process is applied to all eggs.

As ICSI requires additional training, the success of the procedure depends on the experience of the embryologist as well as the quality of the egg and sperm. Therefore, this procedure is only performed by the responsible embryologist in our laboratory.

Although ICSI increases the fertility rate per egg, it does not alter other stages of IVF treatment and does not require additional measures to be taken in patients who are pregnant with ICSI. ICSI babies also do not have a difference compared to other babies, and ICSI babies will be as healthy as babies obtained with other IVF methods.

The ICSI procedure is performed free of charge in all our treatments. The procedure is free of charge to increase the chance of pregnancy for our patients in all our procedures.