Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a specialized form of in vitro fertilization (IVF) used primarily to overcome male infertility issues. This technique involves the direct injection of a single sperm into the cytoplasm of an egg. ICSI is particularly beneficial for couples where the male partner has low sperm count, poor sperm motility, or abnormally shaped sperm. It's also used when sperm must be retrieved surgically from the testicles or epididymis (in cases like vasectomy or non-obstructive azoospermia).

The ICSI process starts with the standard IVF procedure of stimulating the female partner's ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Once the eggs are retrieved, instead of mixing the sperm and eggs together as in conventional IVF, a single sperm is selected by an embryologist and injected directly into each egg. This method significantly increases the chance of fertilization, especially in cases where conventional IVF might not be effective.

ICSI has been a game-changer in treating male infertility, allowing many couples to conceive when other methods have failed. It is also used in cases of unexplained infertility, previous fertilization failure in standard IVF, or when frozen eggs are being used. The success rate of ICSI is comparable to that of traditional IVF, making it a valuable option in the realm of assisted reproductive technologies.