If you have tried everything to have a baby, but it has not been successful, it can take a toll on your mental and emotional state. If you have failed two or more IVF or ICSI cycles, you may think there is no other option for you to conceive, but you can try IMSI treatment. It is a more advanced technique than IVF and ICSI and has more success rates.

In this article, Dr. Hrishikesh Pai from Bloom IVF centre in Mumbai discusses the IMSI procedure.

What is IMSI?

Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection or IMSI is an infertility procedure used as part of IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). It includes injecting a selected sperm morphologically into an egg. The selection of sperm is performed carefully before the procedure so that any abnormal sperms that might prevent the pregnancy can be removed.

IMSI is used for severe male infertility. It is an advanced technique of ICSI that uses 16 times higher magnification power than ICSI. IMSI offers a selection of viable sperm and improved sperm quality.

For this treatment, you can contact Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, an IVF specialist with over 35 years of experience at Bloom IVF center in Mumbai. 

Why Perform IMSI?

IMSI treatment improves the chances of embryo fertilization and development, particularly in men who have had unsuccessful IVF or ICSI treatment or have defective sperm. IMSI is notable for its ability to pick sperm with exceptional accuracy. 

It entails examining sperms at a thousand times magnification. Minor morphological sperm defects, which are typically overlooked with ICSI, can therefore be discovered. The sperms in ICSI may appear healthy, yet they may not have fertilizing potential.

Who needs it?

Your IVF doctor will recommend IMSI treatment for you in the following conditions:

• If you have a high percentage of sperm that are shaped abnormally
• If you have poor results at previous ICSI or IVF cycles
• If you have a low number of sperms in the sperm sample
• If your sperm are surgically recovered
• Failed two or more IVF cycles
• History of repeated miscarriages and abortions
• The blastocyst stage is made of a few embryos 
• High level of DNA fragmentation in the semen

Procedure

According to Dr. Pai, the following is the procedure for IMSI treatment: 

Sample Preparation

After the semen sample is collected, it is treated with a special solution to remove any impurities. 

Selection of Sperm

The sperms will be examined under a microscope to choose the best sperm to inject into the egg. IMSI uses high magnifications of roughly 6600X to evaluate the morphology of the sperm. Only a morphologically normal sperm is inserted into the egg.

These sperms have a better rate of pregnancy. We can see minute vacuoles and sperms with giant heads, but large vacuoles are not picked. This allows the doctor to select the most viable sperm.

Selection of Egg

A fine needle is inserted under the guidance of ultrasound. This is done by aspirating the egg follicles to collect the eggs. These eggs are observed under a microscope to choose healthy eggs. After retrieving the eggs, the eggs will be washed to remove unwanted components.

Injecting the Sperm

The sperm that is selected will be placed in the pipette and injected into the egg under the microscope. Then these eggs are cultured in the petri dish in an incubator overnight.

Afterward, these eggs are monitored at regular intervals to observe the signs of fertilization.

This treatment is available at Bloom IVF center in Mumbai.

Advantages

According to Dr. Pai, the following are the advantages of IMSI: 

• IMSI reduces the risk of miscarriage
• Increases the pregnancy rates because the quality of the embryos is improved
• IMSI helps couples who have unexplained infertility

Disadvantages

• IMSI is a lengthy procedure. It takes one to two hours longer to finish than IVF.
• IMSI is more expensive than IVF.
• It is not offered in the majority of IVF clinics.

Success Rate

IMSI can help increase the success rate of pregnancy from 30 to 60%. It could be helpful for men with the worst infertility problems. If you are a couple, who has failed multiple IVF or ICSI-IVF cycles, you can benefit from this.

Couples who have unexplained infertility have also significantly benefited from this. It also reduces the number of abortions.

Cost of IMSI

The cost of IMSI differs from clinic to clinic, says Dr. Pai from Bloom IVF Center in Mumbai.

The average cost of IMSI in India is Rs. 150000 to Rs. 250000. This cost is less than most countries.

Conclusion:

IMSI is a cutting-edge technology for treating infertility. It has a higher success rate than IVF and ICSI. If you have failed these two treatments, you may be able to conceive utilizing the IMSI method.

This technique is not available at a lot of clinics. So, you should be careful while selecting a doctor and hospital to get your treatment.