Microinjection is the process of placing the sperm cell taken from the father into the egg cell taken from the mother with the help of a very thin needle. This process is carried out in the laboratory with the help of a special microscope.
Microinjection method is the basis of IVF treatment. Microinjection is used today as a part of IVF treatment in all modern IVF centers. At the same time, microinjection is a recommended application in cases where the enzyme secreted by the sperm to pass the egg membrane is insufficient.
It is very difficult to fertilize through the normal in vitro fertilization method in father candidates with very low sperm count and quality. This situation cannot be achieved at all in cases such as the father's azoospermia.
In these people, fertilization can occur through the microinjection technique. The reason for this is that even a single sperm is sufficient for fertilization in the microinjection method.
The expectant mother is taken to the operating room for oocyte pick-up(OPU). Egg retrieval is a short procedure that takes 15-20 minutes and is performed under anesthesia. However, due to the shortness of the procedure, the amount of anesthesia given is very small.
In the operating room, the follicle fluids containing the eggs are drawn into small laboratory tubes. Eggs are selected by examining the tubes in the laboratory.
After the microinjection procedure carried out through a special microscope, the fertilized eggs (zygote) are put back into the incubators and allowed to develop.
Embryos prepared in the laboratory are given to the expectant mother through a thin soft tube called a catheter.After the eggs are selected, our embryologist leaves the eggs to rest in special cabinets called incubators, whose ambient conditions resemble the mother's womb. Meanwhile, the sperm cells of the father-to-be are also made ready for the microinjection process.
One day after microinjection, fertilized eggs become 2-cell embryos. During this process, the development of two-cell embryos in the incubator is monitored by our embryologists.
Embryo transfer can be performed on the 2nd day, 3rd day or 5th day, which we call blostocot, after microinjection, depending on the characteristics of the embryos and our patients.
Two days after the microinjection, the embryos continue to divide and develop and become four-celled. Healthy embryos that have become four-celled are ready for the transfer process.
