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Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment

ICSI is an extra procedure carried out during IVF treatment, where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg to help maximise the chances of fertilisation.

For 30 years, we’ve successfully used ICSI to overcome fertility challenges.

Want to know if this is for you? You can talk to one of our fertility experts.

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What is ICSI?

For around a third of couples finding it hard to get pregnant, the cause of infertility is sperm related.

ICSI is a common treatment used in this situation.

Around 2 in 3 IVF cycles use ICSI.

During a regular IVF cycle, mature eggs are removed from the ovaries, mixed with sperm in a lab, and left to fertilise.

In ICSI, an embryologist injects a single sperm into each egg to fertilise it.

This can increase the chance of fertilisation as the sperm no longer has the challenge of getting into the egg.

Who can benefit from ICSI treatment?

ICSI treatment could help you if:

  • You’re unable to conceive because of fertility problems

  • You’ve already had IVF or another fertility treatment that didn't work

When is ICSI recommended?

During your consultation, we’ll run a series of tests to understand the cause of your fertility issues and may recommend ICSI if:

  • You have a low sperm count

  • Your sperm don’t move normally or are abnormally shaped

  • You’re using sperm recovered via surgical sperm retrieval

  • Your sperm have high levels of DNA damage

  • You’ve had IVF previously and none or very few eggs fertilised

  • You’re using donor eggs

  • You’re using frozen eggs or sperm

Occasionally, we may recommend ICSI to you even if you have no specific sperm problems.

This is because research has shown that ICSI can help improve success rates where previous rounds of IVF haven’t worked.

Getting started contact us

Contact us today

If you’d like to know more about ICSI treatment at one of our clinics or would like to book an appointment, please get in touch. We’ll get back to you within 48 hours and provide you with all the information you need to get started.

What are ICSI success rates?

ICSI treatment is very effective, resulting in fertilised embryos in between 50% and 80% of cases.

However, following ICSI there are many other factors within the IVF process that affect the chance of becoming pregnant.

Age is one of the main factors. For women aged up to 30, the pregnancy success rate following ICSI treatment is around 40%.

For women aged 30 to 39, it's 30-35%.

To find out the overall IVF success rate of your local TFP Fertility clinic, please enter your postcode on our local clinics page and select your nearest clinic.

You can also visit our success rates page to learn about how we calculate our IVF success rates and what to look out for when choosing a fertility clinic.

ICSI success rates - Couple holding their baby

How much does ICSI cost?

The cost of IVF with ICSI at TFP Fertility UK varies because we carefully tailor treatment and care plans to meet your individual needs and give you the best chance of success.

A typical cycle of IVF with ICSI includes:

  • Egg collection

  • ICSI procedure

  • Embryo transfer

  • EmbryoScope

  • Blastocyst culture

  • Embryo freezing

  • One year of storage for eggs, sperm or embryos

You can find a detailed price list for all treatments and procedures on each TFP Fertility clinic page.

Find your nearest clinic, or use our contact form to request a confidential chat about your circumstances, whether ICSI is right for you, and to take you through the costs.

ICSI in more detail

ICSI follows the exact same process as a typical IVF cycle. It's only the way the egg is fertilised that changes.

A sperm sample is taken close to the time of egg retrieval.

This sample is washed and prepared in a laboratory, and our specialist embryo team select the healthiest sperm.

Looking through a microscope, an embryologist injects an individual sperm into each egg using a glass tube called a cannula.

The fertilised eggs are incubated for up to six days, and the best embryo is then carefully selected and placed into the womb to develop.

Any remaining embryos can be frozen for potential use in the future.

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Ready to start your fertility journey? We're here for you

Speak to our patient support team for advice about your options and to book your first consultation with a fertility expert.