ICSI treatment in Goa: when sperm needs help to fertilise the egg
Part of our guide to IVF treatment in Goa.
ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is the IVF laboratory step in which the embryologist places one sperm inside each mature egg. ICSI treatment in Goa at Heartbeats IVF is advised when sperm are scarce or move poorly, when sperm come from surgery or a frozen sample, or when eggs failed to fertilise in an earlier cycle.
Everything else in the cycle is the same as IVF: the injections, the egg collection, the growing of the embryos and the transfer. ICSI changes only the way the sperm meets the egg. The whole sequence is on our page on IVF treatment in Goa.
How does ICSI work?
In a natural conception, and in conventional IVF, many sperm surround an egg and one of them works its way through the egg's outer shell. When there are very few sperm, or the sperm cannot swim well or attach to the shell, that may not happen, and healthy eggs stay unfertilised.
ICSI does that entry step by hand. Under a microscope, a single sperm is drawn into a glass needle far finer than a hair and placed directly inside the egg: one egg, one sperm. Because only a handful of sperm are needed, ICSI can be tried even when the semen report shows a very low count, or when the only sperm available come from the testis.
Who needs ICSI?
ICSI is advised for a reason found in the reports, not as a routine extra. The usual reasons are:
- A male factor. A very low sperm count, very few moving sperm, or many abnormally shaped sperm on repeated semen tests. Our guide to ICSI for a very low sperm count works through a teaching case of one such couple, and the semen analysis report guide explains each line of the report.
- Poor or no fertilisation in an earlier IVF cycle. If eggs were collected and few or none fertilised when eggs and sperm were placed together in a dish, ICSI is usually advised for the next cycle.
- Sperm retrieved by surgery. When the semen holds no sperm at all, sperm can sometimes be collected directly from the testis or the tube beside it, or found by micro-TESE (see male infertility treatment). Such samples hold few sperm, so ICSI is the usual way to use them.
- Frozen sperm. A sample frozen earlier, for example before cancer treatment, often has fewer moving sperm after thawing, and ICSI makes the most of each one.
- Frozen eggs. Eggs stored by egg freezing are usually fertilised by ICSI after thawing, because freezing hardens the egg's outer shell.
- Very few eggs. When only a small number of eggs is expected, as with low AMH, ICSI may be suggested so that a fertilisation problem does not cost the whole cycle. The evidence here is less clear than for a male factor, so it is decided couple by couple.
When is ICSI not needed?
If the semen report is normal and there is no history of poor fertilisation, conventional IVF is usually enough. Adding ICSI for every couple, whatever the semen report, has not been shown to raise the chance of a baby, and it adds to the cost. Whether you need it is decided by your doctor from the semen reports and the notes of any earlier cycle, and explained to you before the cycle starts.
How is ICSI different from conventional IVF?
- Conventional IVF: every egg sits in a dish with many thousands of washed, moving sperm, and the sperm do the rest. It needs a reasonable number of good, moving sperm.
- ICSI: the embryologist chooses one sperm for each mature egg and injects it, so only as many sperm as there are mature eggs are needed.
- The same in both: the injections and scans, the egg collection under light anaesthesia, the growing of the embryos and the transfer. Neither method changes the quality of the egg or of the sperm.
What happens in the laboratory on ICSI day?
- Egg collection. The eggs are drawn from the ovaries with a fine needle under light anaesthesia, and you go home the same day; our guide to egg collection in IVF explains that morning.
- Checking each egg. The cloud of cells that surrounds every egg is cleared away so the embryologist can judge its maturity. An immature egg is not injected.
- Preparing the sperm. The semen, or the sample from surgery, is washed, and moving, normal-looking sperm are picked out.
- The injection. The egg is held still with a fine glass holder, and one sperm is drawn into an even finer needle and placed inside the egg, under a high-powered microscope, one egg at a time.
- The next morning. Each injected egg is checked for signs of fertilisation. Not every one fertilises.
- Growing the embryos. Fertilised eggs grow in an incubator for three to five days and are graded (see embryo grading explained). An embryo is then transferred to the womb, and good-quality embryos left over after the transfer can be stored by embryo freezing.
What can ICSI not change, and what are its risks?
ICSI solves one problem: getting a sperm inside the egg. It does not make a poor-quality egg better, and it does not repair damage carried in the sperm. After the injection the egg still has to fertilise, the embryo still has to grow, and it still has to implant in the womb. So a cycle can stop with no embryo to transfer, and nobody can say in advance whether a transfer will lead to a pregnancy.
A small number of eggs can be damaged by the injection itself. Where a low sperm count has a genetic cause, ICSI works around it rather than repairing it, and the same cause can be passed on to a son. That is why hormone tests and, where indicated, genetic tests are advised for a very low count, with genetic counselling if a cause is found, before you decide. Most children conceived through ICSI are healthy; where studies have found a slightly higher chance of some problems, much of it is thought to come from the underlying fertility problem rather than from the injection.
What does IVF with ICSI cost?
Price list: October 2026
IVF with ICSI is ₹2,10,000. That is everything in the IVF price (₹1,60,000 for one full cycle) plus ICSI: one sperm injected into each mature egg. Tests before IVF, surgical sperm retrieval such as micro-TESE, a later frozen embryo transfer and embryo freezing beyond six months are not in the price. Whether ICSI is needed is decided from your reports, for the reasons above, and you are told before the cycle starts. The full table of what each price covers is on our IVF cost in Goa page.
What should you bring to the first consultation?
Bring every semen report the husband has had, old and new, the wife's reports, and the notes of any earlier IVF cycle, especially the number of eggs collected and the number that fertilised. Those numbers show whether ICSI is likely to help.
Consultations are at whichever Heartbeats clinic is nearest you: Panjim, Margao, Mapusa or Vasco. Call or WhatsApp us to book.
Who wrote this guide?
The Heartbeats IVF team wrote this guide as general education. It cannot replace advice about your own case: your treatment is decided by your doctor after examining you and reading your reports.
Questions couples ask about ICSI treatment
Is ICSI a separate treatment from IVF?
No. ICSI is one step inside an IVF cycle. The injections, the egg collection, the growing of the embryos and the transfer are the same; only the way the sperm enters the egg is different.
Who needs ICSI instead of conventional IVF?
Couples with a very low sperm count or very few moving sperm, couples whose eggs fertilised poorly or not at all in an earlier IVF cycle, and couples using sperm retrieved by surgery, a frozen sperm sample or frozen eggs. When the semen report is normal, conventional IVF is usually enough.
Does ICSI mean anything extra for the wife?
No. ICSI is done in the laboratory, on the eggs, after they are collected. For the wife the cycle is the same as IVF: injections, scans, the egg collection under light anaesthesia and the transfer.
Can ICSI be done with sperm taken from the testis?
Yes. When the semen holds no sperm at all, sperm can sometimes be collected directly from the testis or the tube beside it, or found by micro-TESE. Such samples hold few sperm, so ICSI is the usual way to use them. Sperm are not found in every man.
Does ICSI raise the chance of pregnancy?
Only where the problem is getting the sperm into the egg. ICSI helps eggs fertilise when sperm cannot manage it on their own; it does not improve the quality of the egg or the sperm, and with a normal semen report it has not been shown to raise the chance of a baby.
Is ICSI charged separately?
ICSI is not priced on its own. IVF with ICSI is ₹2,10,000 and IVF without ICSI is ₹1,60,000 (price list: October 2026). Tests before IVF, surgical sperm retrieval, a later frozen embryo transfer and freezing beyond six months are extra.
Your visit is confidential — nothing about you appears on this website or on social media.
What you read here explains fertility care in general terms and cannot replace a consultation. Decisions about your own care should be made with a doctor who knows your history and has seen you. We do not carry out or offer sex determination of any kind, which is prohibited by law in India under the PCPNDT Act.