Treatments that Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Can be Combined with

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, or ICSI, is a highly-advanced procedure of artificially injecting a selected egg cell of the female with sperm. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection is used during specific, Artificial Reproductive Technologies like IVF, wherein the male sperm lacks the motility or the metabolic capability to enter the oocyte (female egg cell). The increasing prevalence of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection as a part of IVF treatment has resulted in its combined usage with various treatments like:

PGD: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection is often combined with PGD treatment. Though PGD is optional and is usually put forth as an option to the IVF couple, its prevalence is rising. This is mainly because PGD is perhaps the most undemanding way of decoding any chance of a genetic defect or abnormality within the embryo.

Please note that the use of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection for fertilization of the egg cell and sperm doesn’t create any risks in terms of making the embryo more vulnerable to imbibing genetic defects. Most of the genetic abnormalities are induced due to typical cellular traits found in the male/female reproductive cells of the IVF couple.

As a result, most IVF couples are advised to undertake a PGD to ensure that embryos with any indication of a genetic defect are not implanted within the uterus. This is vital since vulnerable embryos are likely to induced miscarriages too, rendering the artificial reproduction treatment ineffective.

Since PGD is aimed at assessing the embryo’s health before the embryo is implanted, it negates the complications put forth by other testing methods such as amniocentesis. Any chromosomal abnormality decoded through amniocentesis cannot be resolved since the test is conduced once the embryo begins to develop in the mother’s womb.

However, if PGD testing indicates the possibility of a genetic defect, the Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection technician can simply eliminate the problematic embryo and search for a healthier substitute. This is because PGD is conducted upon ICSI-sourced embryos that haven’t been implanted.

Embryo Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation refers to the technique of artificially freezing a cell or tissue without harming its inherent nature. During embryo cryopreservation, embryos derived from Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection are stored, using freezing aids such as liquid nitrogen.

Embryos sourced through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection are more likely to be needed in multiple numbers. This is because the process of embryo implantation in the IVF female can lead to repeated, early death of the embryo. Thus, the IVF technician should always have a ready supply of healthy embryos created through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.

This is easily done by Embryo Cryopreservation. This procedure is easy to adopt and doesn’t involve the patient at any stage. However, it puts forth an additional expenditure that some IVF couples might not like. However, it also helps to save upon the total IVF treatment costs. This is because embryo cryopreservation ensures that the IVF female isn't repeatedly required to come to the clinic and undergo oocyte retrieval.

The other advantage of cryopreservation is that it helps to prevent the wastage of precious embryos. Once a successful pregnancy is indicated in the IVF female, the clinic has no use for the remaining embryos. However, embryos stored through cryopreservation have a much longer durability. They can be donated to IVF couples who are struggling with creating healthy embryos as a part of embryo donation.

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