ICSI Treatment in India: Cost and Procedures

Infertility has been a problem for ages now, but it has only recently started to be discussed and debated With increasing awareness of infertility, newer advanced methods of dealing with issues related to infertility are surfacing. The most well-known form of assisted artificial reproduction is IVF. Not all infertile patients could benefit from IVF making pursuit for better techniques continued . One of the most popular methods among these is ICSI. It is commonly referred to as IVF-ICSI Treatment since it is complementary to  IVF; it only has a few additional steps to IVF.

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Book an Appointment with Dr. Parul Agrawal for all you fertility related concerns.

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What is ICSI? 

ICSI stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The process essentially entails selection of the best sperms from the semen, and then artificially injecting it under magnification into the egg for fertilization under a microscope. It is one of the most successful methods of artificial treatment for problems related to infertility.

The success rate for ICSI can range from 80to 85%. This is to say that about eight out of ten eggs will fertilize normally. 

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Must Read - How ICSI can help in infertility?

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When is ICSI suggested?

ICSI is suggested under the following circumstances:

• Very low sperm count or absent sperm count
• Abnormally shaped sperms 
• Sperms got after surgical procedures-TESA/Biopsy of testes
• Fertility treatment after vasectomy 
• Couple with infective disease HIV, HB sag, etc.
• Poor quality eggs or low number of eggs obtained
• History of fertilization failure/inability to form embryos by IVF
• Repeated IVF failures in the past
• When genetic tests to prevent transmission of disease are planned on the embryo

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Procedure for ICSI Treatment 

ICSI treatment is divided into five main steps:

1. Stimulation of ovaries by hormone injections to produce optimal number of eggs generally takes about 10 to 12 days.
2. Eggs are retrieved from the woman’s ovaries through minor procedure, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes
3. Freshly ejaculated sperms from the male partner through masturbation. It is preferable to use fresh rather than frozen sperms. The selected sperm is manually injected into the egg for fertilization under microscope
4. The fertilized egg is then transplanted into the woman’s uterus through a catheter.

Cost of ICSI Treatment in India

ICSI, owing to the technology and equipment required for it, costs significantly more than IVF. A single cycle of ICSI treatment may cost you between 1.40 to 2.66 lakh INR depending on the health status of both the partners.

The top-rated fertility hospitals in India use top-of-the-line equipment, have experienced clinicians and embryologists ICSI treatments at these hospitals yield a higher success rate.

Must Read - Fertility Factbook: Is ICSI Treatment Painful?

Benefits of ICSI Treatment

• ICSI significantly improves the chances of pregnancy in severe male factor
• Men with very few sperms or with extremely poor sperm characters can get a chance to have their own genetic child
• Families with genetic disease can opt for IVF-ICSI and PGT on embryos, to prevent the chances of offspring inheriting them.

Risks involved in ICSI

ICSI does not have too many risks involved if done under proper supervision at a proper medical facility. However, In some unusual cases, these are the risks that are involved in ICSI treatment.

• There is a chance that the eggs might not fertilize.
• Male children born through ICSI may inherit the father’s risk of being infertile

These risks, however, are much lesser if the ICSI treatment is done from centres with experienced faculty.

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