Hello !
Could you please explain me a little bit about these techniques ? What’s is the difference between them ? which technique has the highest success rate ? And finally based on what will be decided if a patient needs to go through one technique and not the other ?
Many thanks
IVF is when sperm is collected and put with the eggs that have been collected to let the best sperm make their way to hopefully fertilise the eggs in the laboratory environment. ICSI is when each idividual egg is injected with a single sperm (which is chosen by the embryologist - they choose the best ones) in the hope that it will fertilise the egg....this takes away the chance of the sperm not getting to the eggs and is mainly used when men have a low sperm count/sperm isnt progressive (swimming well)/ or there are few sperms that look normal. The success rates are much the same. Hope that helps and makes sense.xx
Thank you !!
We are in a situation where our fertility specialist asking us to pick one of these two Techniques, my husband has low motility (18% are motile and ~ 80% immotile).
According to the specialist, I have Normal and healthy eggs !
Im surprised that they have recommended one or the other to you! We just got told in our NHS that we were having ICSI. Our private clinic chooses to do ICSI for everyone if that helps!xx
Yes !
Maybe they are offering us both so we pick one, I forgot to mention that the distance between the clinic and our location is approx 2 hours drive !
I dunno if the distance can be here a concern ?
The distance to your clinic shouldnt make any odds to be honest....Im in Scotland and my clinic is in Athens.xx
Well, then I really have no idea why they aren’t saying so !
so basically, ICSI is an injective operation ( eggs don’t need to be collected ) while IvF is a laboratory operation ( eggs need to be collected and fertilization occurs in laboratory ) is that correct ?
The eggs and sperm have to be collected for both procedures. In IVF more I guess is left to nature for the sperm to reach and fertilise the eggs so more is left to nature albeit in the lab. In ICSI the sperm is put into the eggs individually. Both are lab procedures. ICSI is usually recommended for sperm issues....like low sperm count, not many normal shaped sperm, sperm that dont swim well.....the embryologist takes all these factors into account and he choses the best looking ones to put into the eggs so its less natural I guess but it takes away the uncertainty that the sperm might not swim to the eggs.xx
Ok, I got it !
I read now that there is a third technique called IUI, which is a procedure that involves sperm to be collected and washed. The fastest moving sperm are then inserted into the womb using a fine plastic tube.
How are the success chances of this Technique ?
It depends on you age, if you are under 35 then it may be worth a shot. However if again your OH has sperm issues then this might not be an option. Might be worth asking your clinic for their opinion and ask for their success rates.xx
Like what others have said it is about how the sperm gets to the egg, on its own or with help. My clinic called me after egg collection and said that the a perm was moving a well as they would have liked and offered ICSI which I chose to give me the best possible chance. You could always ask if you need to decide now or wait and see how it goes and see if you’d benefit from it? My clinic didn’t offer it as standard so was an additional £500 for it.
They did ICSI on half my eggs and the other the left to it . I still managed 9 viable eggs at day 5 out of 19 collected, and they said it actually didn’t make much difference as I had about the same make it through ICSI as I did through standard IVF.
Hope that helps.
Thanks B x
It would be a good idea to read this and maybe watch the vide:
hfea.gov.uk/treatments/expl...
There is a slightly higher risk of birth defects and long term health problems with ICSI, but the risk is still very low and for many people, only ICSI is possible. Something to consider.
I was initially scheduled for icsi, but ended up doing ivf. Sperm was good enough (improved after supplements). We considered initially icsi as we were supposed to do pgs (I have some issues), but due to low number of eggs collected (5), the risk was to have no transferrable blasts (additional freezing and thawing, as well as extraction of cells for testing). If you do ivf, they cannot do pgs or pgd.
Regarding iui, I know the success rates are lower and it will not work for certain fertility problems.
I was asked if we want to do iui (first), which is less invasive / medicated and less costly. Due to age and low success rate, I chose ivf / icsi.
IVF vs ICSI for borderline MFI
IVF - ICSI
IVF, Cancer & ICSI 
Icsi or Ivf
