Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection - Complications

Complications

There is some suggestion that birth defects are increased with the use of IVF in general, and ICSI specifically, though results of different studies differ. In a summary position paper, the Practice Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine has said it considers ICSI safe and effective therapy for male factor infertility, but may carry an increased risk for the transmission of selected genetic abnormalities to offspring, either through the procedure itself or through the increased inherent risk of such abnormalities in parents undergoing the procedure.

An online news story on MSNBC.com by Marilynn Marchione of the Associated Press, released on Saturday, May 5, 2012, discussed the risk of birth defects in ICSI versus natural conception or normal IVF; the following is a directly quoted segment of that release:

"Test-tube babies have higher rates of birth defects, and doctors have long wondered: Is it because of certain fertility treatments or infertility itself? A large new study from Australia suggests both may play a role.

Compared to those conceived naturally, babies that resulted from simple IVF, or in vitro fertilization — mixing eggs and sperm in a lab dish — had no greater risk of birth defects once factors such as the mother's age and smoking were taken into account.

However, birth defects were more common if treatment included injecting a single sperm into an egg, which is done in many cases these days, especially if male infertility is involved. About 10 percent of babies born this way had birth defects versus 6 percent of those conceived naturally, the study found." ..."