OHSU Infertility Lab - ICSI, Extended Embryo Culture

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, "ICSI"

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is now an established technique for the treatment of male based infertility in the context of assisted reproduction. Originally developed by groups in Norfolk, Virginia, and Belgium, it has gained international recognition. Encouraged by worldwide success, the IVF lab at OHSU helped pioneer the technique in the Northwest in 1994.

ICSI is particularly of benefit to patients with severe male-factor infertility. It enhances the likelihood of fertilization in even the most difficult of cases, including extremely low sperm counts and motility's, sperm abnormalities after vasectomy reversal, and sperm recovered from epididymal or even testicular aspiration.

The technique is based on depositing or "injecting" a single sperm into the egg, thereby bypassing many steps in the fertilization process. ICSI has proven that these steps are not required for successful fertilization, the establishment of a pregnancy, and the birth of a healthy baby.

A sperm cell is selected for injection based on its motility, normal head shape, and overall appearance, Once selected the sperm cell is rendered nonmotile by mechanical means and then placed into a hair thin glass needle. The glass needle is gently inserted into the egg and the sperm deposited. The timing of subsequent events, including embryo development, corresponds to conventional IVF.

We are very excited about the availability of this technique for our clinical patients. An IVF medical specialist can make recommendations about its use in your treatment.

Please review our current ICSI pregnancy results .