5 replies to this topic

[hopingtobe3]

I've posted this in a few of the expert areas but the andrologist suggest I post here as well so hopefully you have some thoughts you can offer on our situation.

We're doing our first IVF cycle and I'm looking for an opinion on whether ICSI would be good for us.

DH's numbers are all pretty good except for the morphology which is only 6%. My numbers generally look good as well. I've had one slightly high FSH reading but all others have been normal and my AFC is good.

We're being told that ICSI is only warranted when morphology is 4% or lower but given that 'normal' is 14% and we're only at 6 I'm wondering if doing ICSI would help our odds.
Our RE said that ICSI for morphology above 4% won't improve our odds at all but this seems counterintuitive since we don't yet know whether we'll have a fertilization issue and with ICSI we're guaranteeing fertilization.

We know that ICSI carries it's own risks, and certainly isn't free, but are afraid of not doing it and loosing a cycle to lack of fertilization.
What would you advise in this situation?

TIA

[wishuponastar]

We had a higher morphology and weren't advised that ICSI was a requirement for us after ER, but our RE did tell us that 7% of couples with great eggs and great sperm have absolutely 0% fertilization (for our clinic), so the way we looked at it was - we've spent so much money so far, were we willing to risk having none fertilize to save $1500? So we paid for the ICSI and were really happy we did. In the end, it's your decision, and a rescue-ICSI would probably be an option for you if you needed it, but as far as we were concerned, we went for it. Good luck with whatever decision you make - hope this cycle is the answer to your prayers!

[CatL]

Hopingtobe3, I see that you just had your ER on Jan 20th and that you had 8 fertilized eggs. Did you end up going for the ICSI? I'm curious as we have just started our first IVF recently (with ET planned in about 1 month) and we have a similar situation. My numbers are really good and the only issue with DH is slightly low morphology (7%). We were also told that ICSI would not make a difference. I've read about rescue ICSI, but I wonder if it is common practice at the OFC...

[hopingtobe3]

CatL - No we didn't end up doing ICSI so were VERY happy to have 8 of the 10 mature eggs fertilize. And all 8 made it to day 5.
We talked to the docs more about the issue and decided that if we retrieved 4 of less eggs we'd do ICSI and that seemed like a good 'compromise' on the issue.
I asked about rescue ICSI and no, OFC doesn't do it.

Best of luck!

[CatL]

Thanks a lot for the information!! Wow! You must have been so encouraged that all 8 made it to Day 5 and that you have 5 frosties...I hope our cycle is as successful...Best of luck with your test on Feb. 7th!! I'll be sending you positive vibes ;-)!

[anytime now]

Rescue ICSI is apparently not nearly as effective as doing it from the start, so apparently not a great solution according to my RE...