Introduction:
One type of IVF treatment that is also known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ISCI) is becoming increasingly popular among IVF treatment options. ISCI is an option that is used after other ivf medications have failed to produce the desired results of conceiving a pregnancy. ISCI entails having the woman injected with sperm. IVF with ISCI is responsible for about 65% of all IVF births, which was about 17,000 births that occur in the United State alone each year.
How Does ISCI Work?
ISCI is primarily used as a replacement when male infertility poses a problem transferring the sperm to the woman’s egg to help create an embryo, which is required for the woman to be able to conceive. ISCI harvests a man’s sperm and then a woman’s ovaries before making them into an embryo which is then implanted back into the woman’s womb to attempt to see if the embryo will conceive into a pregnancy.
It is also worth noting that IVF with ISCI will cause a much greater chance of a multiple pregnancy. About 20% of all IVF with ISCI treatments will result in the woman conceiving twins, triplets, or greater. Multiple births can have many more complications and issues than just single births.
How Much Does IVF with ISCI Cost?
IVF generally will run about $12,400 per treatment and ISCI adds about $1,500 per treatment in the United States, but that price varies greatly when talking out-of-pocket-costs. Some institutions are more or less expensive, and sometimes some insurance companies will help cover a percentage of some treatments. Others will cover nothing. That will greatly affect how much you pay out of pocket and how affordable the treatment is to you and your partner.
Who Can IVF with ISCI Help?
IVF with ISCI treatments can aid couples with a long list of male infertility problems. Some of these include things like the male having no sperm in their semen, a low sperm count, slow sperm (low sperm motility), abnormally-shaped sperm, damaged or missing vas deferens (tubes that carry the sperm from the testes to the penis), someone has had a vasectomy, or tried other forms of IVF but had problems during the fertilization process.
Conclusions:
IVF with ISCI is a more advanced procedure used after other ivf medications are not successful in producing the results of the woman conceiving a pregnancy. IVF medications are often the first step in trying to help a couple struggling to conceive, but oftentimes that’s simply not enough to make the pregnancy possible. Sometimes, more advanced options are needed and IVF with ISCI is one of those options available to help especially males who are proving to have inadequate sperm to conceive children naturally.