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ICSI because of frozen sperm? Zika?

mrsjwmmrsjwm member
in Infertility
Hi everyone. I will be starting my first full round of IVF soon (I’ve done retrievals in the past though—I have stage 4 endo). My husband has frozen his sperm because he is traveling to an area with Zika and my RE said it is a real concern since you can contract Zika and have no symptoms and it can stay in semen for at least 3 mos possibly 6... I will be doing multiple IVF rounds this summer to bank embryos before surgery and we will be using this frozen sample (that the lab has divided). I just found out that since the sample is frozen we will have to do ICSI. I didn’t think we would do ICSI since my husband has no sperm issues and I liked the idea of at least something random in this process! I have been kind of upset and angry that he has decided to take the trip despite having to do all the IVF cycles this summer and now we will have to use his frozen sperm (and all from that one sample!). Anyway, do any of you know of any downsides to ICSI or risks or are they all upsides? I don’t know if I’m being ridiculous getting upset that we have to do ICSI or whether that’s the norm and actually a positive. Any advice welcome, thank you!! Also if any of you dealt with the Zika in semen issue advice on that welcome too...did any of you get the blood test to check for it? 
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Re: ICSI because of frozen sperm? Zika?

  • orchid0404orchid0404 member
    @mrsjwm Sorry to hear that you have this added stress. The process overall is always stressful, so don't feel bad about being upset. I think with any procedure there are always going to be some risks. The tricky thing with infertility, is that it is hard to get accurate statistics. When it comes to any negative outcomes with IF treatments, they can never be exactly sure if it attributed to the treatment or if there was just already a higher likelihood of the adverse event happening because someone has infertility. In terms of benefits it ideally increases the number of fertilized embryos you get but I'm not sure how the rates compare when there isn't male factor infertility involved. I would recommend talking to your RE specifically about ICSI and asking them to review the risks/benefits with you. Hopefully the RE can give you some piece of mind and/or help DH make an informed decision about whether the trip is worth taking or not. 
    History in Signature 
    Me & DH: 33
    September 2015: Chemical pregnancy/Miscarriage
    October 2016:  1st IUI - BFN
    November 2016: 2nd IUI - Cancelled due to cyst
    December 2016:  3rd IUI - BFN
    January 2017: 4th IUI - BFN
    April 2017: 1st IVF Retrieval - 3 embryos (1 transferred, 2 frozen) - BFP 
    May 2017: Missed miscarriage @ 7 weeks, D&C
    August 2017: 1st FET - BFP & Miscarriage @ 6 weeks
    November 2017: Hysteroscopy to remove adhesion 
    December 2017: 2nd FET - BPF & Miscarriage @ 6 weeks
    February 2018: 2nd IVF Retrieval - 1 embryo, PGS tested normal 
    August 2018: 3rd FET - BFP & Miscarriage @ 5 weeks
    September 2018: DX with blood clotting disorder
    November 2018: 3rd IVF Retrieval - 2 embryos, both abnormal 
    February 2019: 4th IVF Retrieval w/TESA for DH - 2 Embryos, both PGS tested normal
    April 2019: ERA test
    June 2019: 4th FET - BFP & Miscarriage @ 5 weeks
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  • ACAC25ACAC25 member
    Hi, im sorry that you are feeling added stress and upset during this already difficult time. 
    I currently live in Mexico that does still have Zika. However, the area has been dropped down by the CDA and our area has always had less zika than other areas. It is scary but a risk that we have to take. 
    In terms of ICSI i have only heard good things. Basically they take the best sperm and inject it into the egg. It increases the chances of fertilization. 
    I hope this helps you

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  • caitiemaecaitiemae member
    @mrsjwm sorry you have another hurdle in this process.  The only downside to ICSI will probably just be an extra cost.  Although, I know in some clinics, it's part of the global cost of IVF and done with almost every cycle to increase success rates.  
    ***pregnancy mentioned***

    Me: 27/ DH: 29
    Dx:  obstructive azoospermia 
    IVF#1:  October 2015
    10/7/2015:  ER  11 retrieved, 8 mature, 7 fertilized w/ ICSI
    10/12/2015:  Transferred 5AA and 4AA blasts, froze one 4AA and 4BB
    Beta #1 9dp5dt:  122!!! BFP!
    Singleton, due June 2016

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