Assisted Fertilisation in IVF (ICSI)

About 30 % of infertility is caused by poor quality sperm. "Poor quality" can mean the number of sperm is reduced, the proportion of sperm moving (motile) is reduced, the patterns of movement are abnormal, or the average shape of the sperm is abnormal. Sometimes sperm have defects in their function that are not reflected in their number, the way they move, or the way they look.

In conventional IVF, sperm and oocytes, (eggs), are mixed in vitro (usually in a Petri dish), a sperm fertilises the egg to form an embryo, and the embryos are placed into the woman's uterus, in the hope that one may implant. Although IVF was developed as a treatment for overcoming tubal disease, it can also be used to treat male infertility. However, there are limits to the use of conventional IVF for male infertility - many men have sperm that are unable to fertilise eggs, or the fertilisation rates would be very low. Also, some men have no sperm in their ejaculate but produce sperm that can be retrieved from the testis and used to fertilise eggs.