What Is ICSI?

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is a technique being more and more widely used around the world. It involves the injection of a single sperm cell into the oocyte using highly specialised equipment and expertise. The fetilised oocyte is then cultured in special media and conditions for approximately 1 week before being transferred into a mare or frozen for later use.

What Is Involved?

The mare arrives at the clinic, is sedated and her ovaries are examined to see how many follicles there are. She is then cleaned thoroughly and using a special ultrasound probe and needle, each follicle (which contain the oocyte) is aspirated and flushed to remove the oocyte. The entire procedure takes 1-2 hours and there are generally no side effects for the mare. All the fluid from all the follicles (even the tiny ones) is filtered and the oocytes are collected. The oocytes need to be 'matured' in special fluids before undergoing the ICSI procedure.

Why Would I Use ICSI?

For most mares, you wouldn't. However, it is becoming an increasingly common option for elite competition mares that cannot afford the time off for a regular embryo transfer programme. Embryo transfer requires multiple examinations, insemination and flushing at fixed time intervals, which can be inconvenient for a busy competition mare. ICSI is a single examination/procedure, which can be conducted at any time of the year - the mare does not need to be actively cycling.

In the event of acute death of a valuable mare, oocytes can be collected and ICSI performed if the ovaries are harvested correctly and shipped to an appropriate facility.

ICSI is also used on sub-fertile mares that have been unable to produce embryos and for stallions who have died and only very small amounts of semen remain. ICSI can also be used successfully in some cases of stallion infertility.

As most ICSI embryos are frozen, it also opens exciting opportunities for the importation of embryos from Europe and America at a significantly reduced cost