How much does icsi cost in Iran?
The cost of an ICSI in Iran starts from $ 2400.
What Is ICSI?
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is an infertility treatment. This involves injecting live sperm into a person’s eggs in a laboratory. This method can create an embryo (fertilized egg). ICSI is a type of IVF. Doctors usually use ICSI when male infertility affects a man’s ability to have a child.
When Is ICSI Needed?
ICSI is usually used when couples have severe infertility problems and other fertility treatments have failed. This method is typically used when the male partner does not have enough sperm or is unable to produce sperm.
In general, conditions that lead to the use of ICSI treatment include:
. Low sperm count or oligozoospermia
. Absence of sperm in semen sample
. Low sperm motility
. Damage or absence of the vas deferens in the male partner
. Improper and abnormal shape of the sperm
. Having a vasectomy in the past
. When there is an urgent need to remove the epididymis or testicles
. Failure of previous IVF treatment
. The necessity of using frozen sperm
. Ejaculation disorders in men with spinal cord injury, diabetes, etc.
. Low ovarian reserve
. Having non-obstructive azoospermia or NOA
. Poor quality of eggs due to the old age of the mother
. The presence of some genetic disorders.
. Retrograde ejaculation
. A small number of eggs in the female partner
How Does ICSI Work?
Your treatment will be the same as IVF. The only difference is that a skilled embryologist injects a single sperm into the egg instead of mixing it with the eggs and leaving them for fertilization. This maximizes the chances of fertilization because it bypasses any potential problems the sperm would have in reaching the egg.
What Happens Before ICSI?
Before performing ICSI, your doctor must collect the eggs and sperm. These steps are done to retrieve the egg:
. Ovulation induction (also called ovarian stimulation): The person providing the eggs will receive medication injections for 8 to 14 days. This will stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs at the same time to mature. Lupron or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) injections help mature the eggs in the final stage.
. Egg retrieval: Your doctor uses transvaginal ultrasound technology to insert a thin needle through the vaginal wall into the ovaries. This step is done with a mild anesthetic, so there is no pain. A suction device attached to the needle draws out and collects the eggs.
Unless you are using frozen sperm, sperm collection is done on the same day as egg retrieval. The person who supplies the sperm:
. Refrains from sexual intercourse and masturbation (no ejaculation) for 2 to 3 days before the sperm collection.
. Masturbates at home or in a private room in a fertility clinic and collects the ejaculate in a container provided in the laboratory. The laboratory must receive the sample within 60 minutes of ejaculation.
Semen analysis is performed immediately to check the volume, motility, and quality of sperm. People who experience anejaculation, azoospermia, or retrograde ejaculation may need a sperm collection procedure. This is also true for people who undergo an unsuccessful vasectomy reversal. Procedures such as microscopic testicular sperm extraction and electroejaculation may be performed in a hospital instead of a fertility clinic. A laboratory may freeze and store the sperm (sperm banking) for later IVF use at the clinic.
How to Prepare for ICSI Treatment?
To increase your chances of getting pregnant through ICSI, you need to prepare your body and mind. Here are some valuable tips that will help you prepare for ICSI treatment:
. Have a balanced and nutritious diet: From the first stages of the ICSI procedure until the day of delivery, you should have a proper diet rich in protein and vitamins. Eating more vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruit, fish, fresh and low-fat dairy products, whole grains, vitamins (natural or synthetic), and plenty of water before and after ICSI treatment is recommended. It is also beneficial to avoid red meat, salt, and alcohol until after delivery.
. Maintain a healthy BMI: A balanced body mass index will help you conceive and carry a baby. By having a healthy diet and regular exercise, you will not gain extra weight, thus increasing your chances of getting pregnant through ICSI.
. Avoid unhealthy habits: From the moment you decide to get pregnant, you should avoid unhealthy habits like drinking alcohol, caffeinated drinks, eating junk food, smoking, etc.
. Relax and avoid stress and anxiety: Although anxiety is normal before an ICSI procedure, you need to manage your stress. Stress and anxiety directly affect your hormones and blood circulation and can cause ICSI to fail. Therefore, you can practice daily yoga, breathing techniques, and meditation to reduce stress before undergoing this treatment.
What Should I Expect During the ICSI Procedure?
During ICSI, your doctor:
- Will use a pipette (a small glass tube with a suction bubble) to hold the mature egg on a lab dish.
- Will immobilize and collect the sperm using a thin needle.
- Will insert the needle into the egg to reach the cytoplasm.
- Will Inject the sperm into the cytoplasm.
- Will remove the needle from the egg.
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of ICSI?
Pros:
The benefits of ICSI are widely recognized. This method offers a satisfactory fertilization result to help people with infertility, reproductive system diseases, genetic disorders, or those who have failed other methods. ICSI advantages are as follows:
. ICSI increases the chances of fertilization compared to other methods because it allows sperm to freely fertilize eggs without penetrating the egg.
. ICSI reduces the risk of passing on an inherited disorder to the fetus, such as thalassemia or Down syndrome.
. ICSI increases the chances of pregnancy for women over 35 who are infertile.
. ICSI allows couples to have children later in life when they are ready.
. ICSI allows couples who have undergone sterilization procedures, such as spermatic duct ligation or fallopian tubes, to have a successful pregnancy without undergoing sterilization reversal procedures.
. ICSI allows men with low sperm count, poor sperm quality, poor morphology, or infertility to have children.
Cons:
The Disadvantages of ICSI are as follows:
. ICSI carries the same risks associated with IVF, such as multiple pregnancies if more than one embryo is transferred, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), and ectopic pregnancy.
. ICSI is more expensive than IVF.
. The risk of neonatal abnormalities such as hypospadias may be higher in male infants.
. ICSI has been used for a shorter period of time than IVF. Therefore, experts are still learning about its possible side effects.
. During natural fertilization, only the toughest sperm can travel long distances and cross the egg membrane to fertilize it. Weaker sperm do not make it. However, because ICSI bypasses this natural selection process, there is a slightly increased risk of developing rare genetic problems that the sperm will pass on to the baby. Some, but not all, genetic problems can be tested for before treatment begins.
Risks and Complications of ICSI
What Are the Risks and Complications of ICSI?
These complications may occur with ICSI:
. Damage to some or all eggs during needle penetration.
. Embryo growth stops in the laboratory or after embryo transfer.
. After sperm injection, the egg is not fertilized.
What Are the Risks of ICSI to the Baby?
ICSI may increase a child’s risk of:
. Angelman syndrome.
. Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (a growth disorder).
. Autism.
. Sexual differentiation disorders.
. Intellectual disabilities.
. Hypospadias.
What Happens after ICSI?
After ICSI, the doctor monitors the fertilized egg in the laboratory for signs of successful fertilization. Within five to six days, a healthy fertilized egg should divide into cells to form a blastocyst. Your doctor will evaluate the size of the blastocyst and its cell mass to determine when pregnancy is most likely.
Embryo transfer is performed on the fifth or sixth day after the egg retrieval procedure, or the transfer is usually delayed for a month or even years. The doctor will talk to you about the time of embryo transfer. Using ultrasound technology, the doctor inserts a catheter (a long, thin tube) into your vagina and injects the embryo into your uterus. For pregnancy to occur, the embryo must implant (attach) to your uterus. Your doctor may recommend waiting at least two weeks before taking a pregnancy test.
Post-embryo Transfer Care in ICSI Treatment
Some precautions to take after embryo transfer in ICSI treatment include:
1. Cut out your caffeine
If possible, you should try to stop consuming caffeine completely. If you can’t, you should opt for decaffeinated beverages instead, reducing them to a maximum of 200 mg per day.
2. Avoid stress
A small study in the UK found that patients with lower stress levels after embryo transfer were twice as likely to get pregnant.
3. Avoid vigorous Exercises
Moderate to light exercise and walking are good, but strenuous exercise should be avoided. Vigorous or aerobic exercise is prohibited after embryo transfer.
4. Avoid any heavy lifting
Try to avoid heavy lifting or heavy household chores. Get help from your spouse and family if needed.
5. Avoid douching and hot baths
Douching and hot baths and should be avoided because they may lead to infection. Infections are more likely to cause miscarriage. To prevent any foreign material from entering the vagina and causing infection, showering is a better option than taking a hot bath and swimming in a pool.
6. Avoid sexual intercourse
Sex after embryo transfer is not recommended at all because it may cause vaginal infection. You should even avoid masturbation. Give your body time to heal, adjust and relax.
7. Avoid smoking, alcohol, and drugs
Direct or secondhand smoking, alcohol, and drugs can all harm the fetus with their toxins. Therefore, they should be avoided.
8. Healthy diet
Avoid eating unhealthy and junk food. Eat a healthy diet that should include a combination of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and foods rich in protein and carbohydrates.
9. Medicines should be taken on time
From prenatal vitamins and folic acid to progesterone suppositories or injections, all should be taken on time as prescribed by your doctor. These medications help reduce birth defects and give the embryo strength and a favorable environment for growth.
10. Avoid prolonged bed rest
Lying in bed all the time does not increase your chances of getting pregnant. It might make it worse. People believe that complete bed rest helps implantation, but this is a myth.
These embryo transfer tips increase the chances of a successful pregnancy. Take the test when the time comes and don’t obsess about it. A little spotting and bleeding are also nothing to worry about, but you should always consult your doctor if you have any doubts.
What Are the Success Rates of ICSI?
IVF with ICSI has a much higher success rate than conventional IVF. ICSI usually fertilizes 50-80% of the eggs on which it is performed. However, it is important to remember that no method can guarantee a 100% success rate. Even when sperm is injected directly into the egg, it may not fertilize the egg.
Once the egg is fertilized, it must attach itself to the uterine lining and develop into a fetus. At this stage, the success rate of IVF with and without ICSI is the same. Therefore, the success rate of ICSI is not the same as the number of live births after an IVF cycle.
FAQ:
1. How Is ICSI Different from IVF?
ICSI is a type of IVF. With traditional IVF, the doctor places thousands of sperm next to an egg in a laboratory dish. Whether or not one of the sperm penetrates the egg to fertilize it is left to chance. If none of the sperm fertilizes the egg, conception (fertilization) does not occur.
ICSI enhances fertilization by directly injecting a single sperm into an egg. However, ICSI does not guarantee conception.
In both traditional IVF and ICSI, your doctor implants a fertilized egg (embryo) into your uterus. If the embryo attaches to the lining of your uterus, pregnancy occurs.
2.What Is the Minimum Sperm Count for ICSI Treatment?
In ICSI treatment, a single sperm cell is injected directly into the egg, thus removing any barrier to the sperm cell. In theory, the minimum sperm count for an ICSI treatment is one sperm cell, but most people find they need more than one healthy sperm cell. As a result, it is difficult to estimate the minimum sperm count for ICSI, as sperm count also depends on various factors, such as your partner’s age and how long you have been trying to conceive naturally.
3.Does ICSI Affect Embryo Quality?
There is no difference in the overall quality of embryos obtained with ICSI embryos. Although unproven, there is a belief among many infertility specialists that ICSI may increase embryo production from a certain number of retrieved eggs, which has contributed to the increase in ICSI procedures.
4.Does ICSI Increase the Risk of Having Twins, Triplets, or More?
To increase the chances of a successful pregnancy, your doctor may use ICSI to fertilize several eggs. If you decide to transfer more than one embryo, you may end up expecting twins, triplets, or more. Multiple pregnancies can increase the risk of premature birth and other complications for both parents and babies.
5.Does ICSI Increase the Risk of Birth Defects?
ICSI-IVF comes with all the risks of a regular IVF cycle, but the ICSI procedure also carries additional risks.
Natural pregnancy is associated with a 1.5-3% risk of major birth defects. ICSI treatment slightly increases the risk of birth defects, but it is still rare.
Certain birth defects are more likely to occur with ICSI-IVF, especially Angelman syndrome, hypospadias, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, and sex chromosome abnormalities. They occur in less than 1% of babies conceived using ICSI with IVF.
There is also a slightly increased risk of a male baby having fertility problems in the future. This is because male infertility may be genetically transmitted.
These additional risks are the reason many doctors say that ICSI should not be used for every IVF cycle. If you need ICSI to get pregnant, that’s one thing. Then, you can talk to your doctors about the pros and cons of using this assisted reproductive technology.
6.What Are the Reasons for Unsuccessful Egg Fertilization with ICSI?
Assuming that the reason for failed fertilization after ICSI is not a technical one, several factors could explain the failure:
. The egg may not survive after the injection. This happens if the eggs are post-pubertal or matured before ICSI. It can also indicate poor egg quality.
. The sperm head may not have decondensed, causing failed fertilization due to sperm DNA being “locked” in the sperm head. This causes failed conception or abnormal conception.
. The egg may not be activated and may not participate in the intracellular stages of fertilization. Failure to activate the egg is one of the most common reasons for failed fertilization after ICSI.
7.Does ICSI Increase Autism Risk?
The short answer is Yes. ICSI may increase the risk of autism and certain syndromes in the child.
Source:
. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22463-intracytoplasmic-sperm-injection
