Reproducción asistida
IMSI or Super ICSI
Are you going to undergo an IVF cycle with microinjection (ICSI) and want to improve your chances of embryo implantation and pregnancy? Then you will be interested to learn about this sophisticated spermatozoa selection technique which our biologists use in our laboratories.
IMSI (Intracytoplasmic Morphologically-selected Sperm Injection), also known as Super ICSI (given that it is a technique which improves on the results of ICSI), is a highly sophisticated sperm selection technique. Ginefiv pioneered this technique when it was introduced in 2009.
What is IMSI?
IMSI (Intracytoplasmic Morphologically selected Sperm Injection) is a technique which allows the selection of spermatozoa with no defects or with fewer anomalies in order to perform ICSI, thus increasing the rates of successful implantation and pregnancy.
Dreams that came true
We went to Ginefiv because it worked for a few of my friends and they are mums
now. The prognosis wasn’t very favourable because my ovarian reserve was low, but
the doctor told us that the eggs might be good quality.
I went for my first insemination and it was really emotional knowing that it was virtually impossible that it would happen on the first try, but at the beta test I already
suspected that I was pregnant. And they gave us the news we had been hoping for:
we were pregnant! Yes, it worked on the first go.
Our little Olivia was born nine months later and we couldn’t be more in love
We were advised to get IVF with microinjection and we got good embryos from it.
Three of these ‘little ones’ were transferred to me and I became pregnant with Cristina.
It all went so well and it was so easy that after 15 months we decided to go for a little
brother. It didn’t happen at first but we were lucky on the third try with frozen
embryos and we had our second child, Carolina. We couldn’t be happier
We were fed up with another clinic so we came here and what a good move that
was. I couldn’t get pregnant even after months and months, and the tests showed
there was nothing stopping it.
After a while though, it did happen for us. And even though I spent so long worrying
about my health, thinking about my baby changed my mood completely.
Thank-you all for the hard work.
We were recommended to go to Ginefiv by some friends and after our first visit,
looking at other clinics didn’t even cross our minds.
We went there after 7 years of unsuccessful treatments with the Social Security
healthcare system.
At Ginefiv I got pregnant with the second transfer.
I’ve only got good things to say about Ginefiv and the way they took care of us. We
found the best clinic and doctor in the world
What does IMSI consist of?
Our biologists use a microscope that is approximately five times more powerful than standard IVF laboratory microscopes (giving it over 6000 times magnification). They are therefore able to examine the spermatozoa in extreme detail and can even observe details of the intracellular organelles, such as the vacuoles which cause destabilisation in the chromatin.
This means they can closely study the morphology of the spermatozoa and rule out those which are deformed or unsuitable for fertilisation, seeing as an egg that is fertilised by a defective spermatozoon usually results in miscarriage. With IMSI, however, being able to select spermatozoa with no morphological anomalies increases the fertility and implantation rates, improving embryo quality and reducing the miscarriage rate.
When should IMSI be used?
In principle, this technique is aimed at anyone who is going to undergo an IVF cycle with ICSI but it is especially suited to couples with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) and for patients with prior IVF failures.
IMSI can supplement MACS in cases of severe male infertility, seeing as the latter selects spermatozoa that do not have the membrane markers which indicate an anomaly in the spermatozoon and IMSI selects those which are morphologically best for fertilisation.
