IVF ICSI Treatment

Fertility Preservation in Ahmedabad: Egg, Sperm & Embryo Freezing

Fertility preservation is the process of freezing eggs, sperm, or embryos so they can be used later, when you’re ready to try for a pregnancy or need a backup during fertility treatment. It’s chosen for medical reasons, such as before cancer treatment, or personal reasons, such as wanting more time before starting a family. Modern freezing techniques, particularly vitrification, preserve reproductive material with high survival through the freezing and thawing process.
Dr. Ladu Dewasi is a consultant gynaecologist and infertility specialist practising at Mayflower Women’s Hospital, Bopal-Ambli, Ahmedabad. Fertility preservation decisions are often time-sensitive, whether you’re preparing for a treatment that may affect fertility or planning ahead as part of your own family-building timeline, and she treats each case as its own conversation rather than a standard checklist. She also holds an MD in Anaesthesia, which is directly relevant here: egg retrieval, the step required for both egg and embryo freezing, is performed under sedation, and she manages that sedation herself rather than handing it off to someone meeting you for the first time.

IVF vs ICSI: What's the Difference?

IVF is an assisted reproductive treatment in which the ovaries are stimulated with medication, eggs are retrieved, and eggs are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory before a suitable embryo is transferred to the uterus.
ICSI is a specific fertilisation technique used within an IVF cycle. Instead of placing sperm near the egg and allowing fertilisation to happen on its own, an embryologist selects a single, healthy-looking sperm and injects it directly into a mature egg using a fine glass needle, under a microscope.
Standard IVFICSI
What is it?An IVF fertilisation approach where eggs and sperm are placed together in the laboratoryA fertilisation technique performed as part of IVF
How does fertilisation occur?Sperm fertilises the egg without direct injectionOne selected sperm is injected directly into a mature egg
When is it usually considered?When sperm parameters are adequate for conventional fertilisationWhen male-factor infertility or previous poor fertilisation is a concern
Required for every IVF cycle?NoNo
What happens afterward?Embryos are cultured and may be transferred to the uterusEmbryos are cultured and may be transferred to the uterus
The choice between standard IVF and ICSI should be based on your semen analysis and treatment history, not applied by default to every cycle.

Who May Need IVF or ICSI?

ICSI may be considered when there is:

  • Low sperm count (oligospermia)
  • Reduced sperm motility or abnormal sperm shape, which can make it difficult for sperm to reach and fertilise an egg on their own
  • Very few or no sperm in the ejaculate, including after a vasectomy, where sperm may sometimes be retrieved surgically
  • Antisperm antibodies, which can interfere with a sperm’s ability to bind to and fertilise an egg
  • Previous IVF with failed or very low fertilisation, even if semen parameters looked acceptable at the time
  • Frozen or previously frozen sperm or eggs, where fertilisation with conventional insemination tends to be less predictable

IVF may be considered when:

  • Fallopian tubes are blocked or significantly damaged
  • There is moderate or severe male-factor infertility
  • Ovulation induction or IUI has been tried appropriately without success
  • Ovarian reserve is reduced and treatment timing matters
  • Preimplantation genetic testing is being considered alongside fertility treatment
  • Age, duration of infertility, or other clinical factors make a more direct treatment reasonable

 

Neither treatment is automatically the first step for every couple. The right approach depends on the cause of infertility and the findings from your fertility assessment.

What Tests Are Needed Before IVF/ICSI?

A fertility assessment before IVF or ICSI typically considers both partners and may include:

  • Detailed history for both partners: duration of infertility, previous pregnancies, previous fertility treatments, and relevant medical history
  • Female hormonal and ovarian reserve assessment: AMH, FSH, LH, TSH, and prolactin, where clinically appropriate
  • Baseline pelvic ultrasound: to assess the uterus, ovaries, and antral follicle count
  • Semen analysis: to assess sperm count, movement, and morphology, and to help determine whether ICSI is appropriate

Assessment of the uterus and fallopian tubes when relevant: particularly when previous treatment or symptoms indicate further evaluation is needed

This work-up decides not just whether IVF is appropriate, but whether standard IVF fertilisation or ICSI is the better fit for your specific results.

How Does the IVF/ICSI Process Work?

Every clinic’s exact protocol varies slightly, but a typical monitored cycle looks like this:

    1. Ovarian stimulation: daily hormone injections, usually starting on day 2 or 3 of your cycle, to encourage multiple follicles to develop
    2. Monitoring: ultrasound scans and, where needed, blood tests through the stimulation phase, so medication can be adjusted to your actual response
    3. Trigger injection: once the leading follicles reach the right size, a trigger injection is given to finalise egg maturity
    4. Egg retrieval: performed under light sedation, roughly 35-36 hours after the trigger injection, using ultrasound guidance
    5. Sperm collection and preparation: a semen sample, or surgically retrieved sperm where needed, is prepared in the lab the same day
    6. Fertilisation: with standard IVF, eggs and sperm are placed together in a dish; with ICSI, a single selected sperm is injected directly into each mature egg
    7. Fertilisation check: assessed roughly 16-18 hours after insemination or injection, to confirm normal fertilisation
    8. Embryo culture: fertilised eggs are grown in the laboratory for several days, typically to day 5 (blastocyst stage), with quality assessed throughout
    9. Embryo transfer: a suitable embryo is transferred into the uterus using a thin catheter, usually a quick, low-discomfort procedure that doesn’t need sedation
    10. Pregnancy testing: a blood pregnancy test is performed roughly two weeks after transfer
    11. Embryo freezing: suitable remaining embryos may be vitrified for possible future use, when appropriate

Not every retrieved egg will be mature, not every mature egg will fertilise, and not every fertilised egg will become a transferable embryo. These are separate stages with separate probabilities, which is why expectations are discussed individually rather than as one combined number.

IVF & ICSI Success Rate: What Affects Your Chances?

There’s no single percentage that applies to every patient, since outcomes depend on age, ovarian reserve, egg and sperm quality, and the underlying cause of infertility. In general terms:
  • Fertilisation rates with ICSI are typically in the range of 50-80% of mature eggs injected, depending on egg and sperm quality
  • Not every fertilised egg develops into a good-quality embryo, and not every good-quality embryo results in a pregnancy, so fertilisation, embryo development, and pregnancy are worth understanding as three separate probabilities, not one blended “success rate”
  • Age and ovarian reserve (AMH) are usually the strongest predictors of how many eggs and embryos a cycle is likely to produce
Not every fertilised egg develops into an embryo suitable for freezing. Among embryos selected for freezing, modern vitrification generally provides high survival through thawing, and frozen embryo transfer is now a well-established part of fertility treatment, with outcomes broadly comparable to fresh transfers.

Risks of IVF and ICSI Treatment

IVF and ICSI are generally safe, well-established procedures, but like any medical treatment, they carry some risks that are worth understanding before you start:
  • Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS): a reaction to stimulation medication in which the ovaries become swollen and, in more significant cases, fluid builds up in the abdomen. Individualised dosing and monitoring help reduce and manage this risk.
  • Multiple pregnancy: driven mainly by how many embryos are transferred, not by whether ICSI or standard IVF was used to fertilise the eggs. Transferring a single embryo, where appropriate, keeps this risk low.
  • Egg-handling risk: ICSI involves directly penetrating the egg, so there is a small additional risk of egg damage compared with standard IVF insemination, which is why it’s used according to clinical indication rather than by default.
  • Genetic considerations in severe male-factor cases: an underlying genetic cause is sometimes present. Genetic counselling or testing may be discussed beforehand so any small increase in inherited risk is understood in advance.
  • Emotional impact: the two-week wait between embryo transfer and pregnancy testing can be genuinely difficult emotionally, and this is acknowledged directly as part of care, not treated as a side note.
These risks are discussed individually with you as part of planning treatment, not disclosed only after a decision has already been made.

Fertility Preservation Risks and What to Expect

Cryopreservation itself, once material is safely frozen, is a well-established and safe technique. The risks and limitations worth understanding relate mainly to the treatment process, particularly ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, rather than to storage itself.

  • Mild discomfort or bloating can occur after egg retrieval and commonly settles within a short period
  • Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) is a recognised, uncommon complication of ovarian stimulation, managed through monitoring and dose adjustment throughout the cycle
  • Not every egg or embryo survives freezing and thawing. Survival is generally high with modern vitrification, but some loss can occur, and the expected outcome depends on factors including age, egg or embryo quality, and the individual treatment cycle
 

Your doctor can walk you through the expected benefits, limitations, and risks specific to your medical history and fertility goals.

Ready to Explore Your Fertility Preservation Options?

Schedule a consultation with Dr. Ladu Dewasi to discuss whether egg, sperm, or embryo freezing is right for you, in a private, unhurried setting.

Book an Appointment

Why See Dr. Ladu Dewasi for IVF/ICSI Care

  • Continuity of care: the same doctor manages your fertility assessment, treatment planning, stimulation monitoring, and, using his MD in Anaesthesia, your sedation at egg retrieval, rather than handing you between different specialists at each stage
  • Individualised expectations: outcomes are discussed in the context of your age, ovarian reserve, and semen parameters, not a single generic success-rate claim
  • ICSI used where it’s indicated: guided by semen analysis and treatment history, not applied by default to every cycle

Ffrequently Asked Questions

IVF is the overall process of fertilising eggs outside the body; ICSI is a specific fertilisation technique used within an IVF cycle, where a single sperm is injected directly into an egg instead of being left to fertilise it naturally in a dish. ICSI is used mainly for male-factor infertility or after a previous IVF cycle with poor fertilisation.
Couples with a low sperm count, poor sperm motility, abnormal sperm shape, very few or no sperm in the ejaculate, antisperm antibodies, or a previous IVF cycle with failed or very low fertilisation are generally recommended ICSI rather than standard IVF insemination.
For couples without a male-factor issue, ICSI doesn't improve outcomes over standard IVF insemination. Its benefit is specifically in cases where sperm-related factors would otherwise make natural fertilisation in a dish unreliable.
No. The chance of a multiple pregnancy depends mainly on how many embryos are transferred into the uterus, not on whether ICSI or standard IVF insemination was used to fertilise the eggs.
The main risks are ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) from the stimulation medication, a small additional risk of egg damage from the injection process, and, in cases of severe male-factor infertility, a modest increase in the chance of an underlying genetic cause. Multiple pregnancy risk relates to embryo transfer numbers, not ICSI specifically.
Egg retrieval is done under light sedation using ultrasound guidance, roughly 35-36 hours after a trigger injection. Because it's performed under sedation, discomfort during the procedure itself is minimal; some cramping or bloating afterward is common and usually settles within a day or two.
Usually one, particularly for good-quality embryos, to keep the risk of multiple pregnancy low. Transferring more than one is discussed with you based on embryo quality, age, and your specific situation.
Good-quality embryos not used in the fresh transfer can usually be frozen (vitrified) for future use, avoiding the need to repeat the full stimulation and retrieval process later.
Not always. Many causes of infertility, including PCOS-related anovulation and mild male-factor issues, are appropriately treated with ovulation induction or IUI first. IVF/ICSI is usually considered when those haven't worked, when there's significant tubal disease or moderate-to-severe male-factor infertility, or when age and ovarian reserve mean a more direct treatment is reasonable sooner.
Dr. Ladu Dewasi consults at Mayflower Women's Hospital, Bopal-Ambli Junction, Sardar Patel Ring Road, Ahmedabad, and sees patients from South Bopal, Shela, Ghuma, and surrounding areas. Appointments can be booked by phone, WhatsApp, or through the enquiry form on this site.

Mayflower Women’s Hospital – 2nd Floor, Satyamev Elite Ambli, Junction, Sardar Patel Ring Rd, Bopal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380058

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