Question

ICSI technique is not helpful if there is

• A. no ovulation or oogenesis in female partner
• B. obstruction of the male reproductive pathway
• C. congenital absence of both vasa efferentia and vasa deferentia in males
• D. hardening of zona pellucida of oocyte after ovulation

Answer 1

The correct option is A no ovulation or oogenesis in female partner

ICSI stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. It is a technique which is used to transfer a single spermatozoon or even a spermatid directly into the cytoplasm of an oocyte using a thin needle. For this procedure to be attempted, the sperm and oocyte both need to be available. In case there is no ovulation (release of functional oocyte from mature follicle) or oogenesis (process of formation of egg cells) in the female partner, this technique cannot be applied. However, if an oocyte is collected from a donor or any other source, the technique can be used.
If there is obstruction in the male reproductive pathway, or congenital (from birth) absence of vasa efferentia and vasa deferentia (male accessory reproductive organs), the sperms cannot be transported naturally into the female reproductive tract for fertilisation. In such cases, sperms can be retrieved from the male reproductive tract using various methods (surgical or non surgical, depending on the doctor’s opinion) and ICSI can be implemented.
If there is hardening of the zona pellucida layer after ovulation, the sperm may find it difficult to penetrate the oocyte naturally. In such cases also, ICSI can be implemented.