ICSI – Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Once you have chosen to have ICSI treatment you will be given follicle stimulating drugs which will increase the production of eggs within the body, maximising the number of eggs available for fertilisation. Scans will reveal the optimum time for these eggs to be collected and you will be asked to attend the clinic on a specific day for these eggs to be collected under sedation. The process for you would be the same as with standard IVF.

The difference between IVF and ICSI is that with IVF eggs and sperm are mixed together in a test tube or petri dish, whilst with ICSI sperm are injected into eggs. With ICSI one sperm is injected into each egg collected.

A sperm sample is obtained on the day of egg collection or where applicable in advance under sedation using surgical techniques such as PESA or TESE otherwise known as Surgical Sperm Retrieval – SSR.

Our expert team of Andrologists and embryologists select the best single sperm to inject directly into the egg, from this point of fertilisation an embryo then develops.

ICSI can be very effective in treating:

• Men with abnormal semen analysis or sperm test results
• Low sperm counts
• Sub-optimal sperm function including motility, sperm count, abnormal forms
• Total absence of sperm in the semen or Irreversible vasectomy (in conjunction with SSR)
• Damaged or absent vas deferens
• Retrograde ejaculation
• Immunological factors (such as very high white blood cell count in semen)
• Other conditions preventing egg fertilisation

State of the art facilities

Operating from Southmead Hospital, our clinic is home to some of the most modern, cutting edge technology and lab facilities in the UK. We have an experienced and dedicated team of embryologists committed to ensuring the best success rates and highest quality of care. Our purpose-built IVF facility has helped thousands of couples to conceive and create families.