What is ICSI?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQujLI-ArMY
--ICSI is an acronym for intracytoplasmic sperm injection - which is a fancy way of saying "inject sperm in the middle of the egg". ICSI is a very effective method to fertilize eggs in the IVF lab after they have been retrieved from the female.
--IVF with ICSI involves the use of specialized tools and equipment and microscopes that enable embryologists to select and pick up individual sperm in a specially designed ICSI needle.
--Then the needle is carefully pushed through the outer shell of the egg and the egg membrane - and the sperm is injected into the inner part (cytoplasm) of the egg.
--This will usually result in normal fertilization in about 75-85% of eggs injected with sperm.
for those of you who have gone thru this process, maybe you can help me...i have no idea how to decide how many eggs to choose to be fertilized!!! how many did you use? this is such a big decision...HELP!!!
~~LLC
Lori,
ReplyDeleteSorry I can't help you with an answer, but I want to you let you know I'm praying you will come up with the answer. This seems like such a difficult task to decide on so I'm praying you get good guidance from others in the situation and from your doctors and family. So excited for day 55!
are you saying that this has a 75-85% success rate?
ReplyDeleteI didn't have to use ICSI, just went through the regular invitro process. BUT I didn't get to "choose" how many were fertilized. They try to fertilize as many as possible, then watch and see which actually make it. For example we retrieved 16 eggs, but only 9 actually fertilized with the sperm. Then we used 2 the first round, 4 the second and 3 the last. The doc also decided how many would be frozen together for future rounds. This also depends on their "cell count". The higher the cell count the stronger the embryo, (not necessarily meaning pregnancy, but stronger chance). There is just SO MANY little aspects to the whole process. You will know more about your reproductive system, than you ever thought by the end!
ReplyDeleteTough choices to make at every turn, it seems. Praying God moves you and gives you confidence about what you ultimately decide.
ReplyDelete