Egg Freezing Procedure & ICSI Treatment in India

May 2, 2024
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Step by step egg freezing procedure in India


The 21st-century woman is ambitious, enterprising and intelligent. How many times have married women in India heard the saying “Your body clock is ticking!” from their friends and relatives? We bet they can’t finish naming instances in a whole day! Not everybody may want to have a baby before the age of 35 to 40 and yet are forced to give up on career opportunities to have a child. However, with the advancement of technology, this is no longer a problem for women. After IVF, the next big thing in the field of assisted reproductive technology is the concept of egg freezing!

Book an Appointment with Dr. Parul Agrawal for fertility concerns


What is egg freezing?

Egg freezing involves retrieving eggs from the woman’s ovaries and freezing them for later use when she feels she is ready for conception and pregnancy. The frozen eggs are good for use and are not compromised in quality for up to many years after the freezing process. The medical term for egg freezing is oocyte cryopreservation.


Why do women opt for freezing their eggs?

Women can opt for egg freezing for multiple reasons.

  • They do not wish to conceive a child immediately but do not want to shut out the option for biological children.
  • Women with cancer often opt to have their eggs frozen since chemotherapy and treatment tend to affect their fertility.
  • Even in IVF treatments, if the male partner cannot produce sperm on the day the eggs are retrieved, the eggs are frozen and later thawed before fertilization.

Must Read - Fertility Factbook: Is ICSI Treatment Painful?


How is egg freezing done?

The process of egg freezing is not very different from IVF.

  • Hormone injections are given from the second day of the period for about 10 to 12 days, to increase the production of eggs.
  • The eggs are retrieved from the ovaries through minor procedure.
  • The eggs are then frozen in liquid nitrogen and kept in the protection of the lab for future use. These eggs are good for fertilization for many years after being frozen


Risks that come with egg freezing

Egg freezing, like all other methods of assisted reproductive technology (ART), has risks.

  • Risks of hormonal injections used during stimulation, ovarian hyperstimulation can occur.
  • It can give women a false sense of hope, especially if egg freezing is done at an older age. While most women view this option as a safety net, egg freezing does not always ensure pregnancy
  • Frozen eggs may not have the same ability to fertilise as fresh eggs. In such cases, women will have to opt for IVF again, or other methods of conception.



Today’s women are independent, self-sufficient and financially secure. Egg freezing serves as an additional step in helping decide when and how to get pregnant. To clear up all doubts or misconceptions you may have regarding the process and results of cryo freezing your eggs, it is always advisable to discuss your desire with your doctor, weigh the pros and cons, and then make your decision. The doctors on Cloudnine are always here to assist and guide you however you need.


ICSI Treatment in India

Infertility has been a problem for ages now, but it has only recently started to be discussed and debated with increasing awareness of infertility, newer advanced methods of dealing with issues related to infertility are surfacing. The most well-known form of assisted artificial reproduction is IVF. Not all infertile patients could benefit from IVF making pursuit for better techniques continued. One of the most popular methods among these is ICSI. It is commonly referred to as ICSI-IVF Treatment since it is complementary to IVF; it only has a few additional steps to IVF.

What is ICSI?

ICSI stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The process essentially entails selection of the best sperms from the semen, and then artificially injecting it under magnification into the egg for fertilization under a microscope. It is one of the most successful methods of artificial treatment for problems related to infertility.

The success rate for ICSI can range from 85% to 90% depending on expertise. It means that 8 to 9 eggs out of 10 eggs get fertilized normally after ICSI.


When is ICSI suggested?

ICSI is suggested under the following circumstances:

  • Very low sperm count or absent sperm count
  • Abnormally shaped sperms
  • Sperms got after surgical procedures-TESA/Biopsy of testes
  • Fertility treatment after vasectomy
  • Couple with infective disease HIV, Hbsag etc.
  • Poor quality eggs or low number of eggs obtained
  • History of fertilisation failure/inability to form embryos by IVF
  • Repeated IVF failures in the past
  • When genetic tests to prevent transmission of disease are planned on the embryo.

Must Read - ICSI Treatment in India: Cost and Procedure.


Steps of ICSI procedure

ICSI treatment is divided into five main steps;

  1. Stimulation of ovaries by hormone injections to produce optimal number of eggs generally takes about 10 to 12 days.
  2. Eggs are retrieved from the woman’s ovaries through minor procedure, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes
  3. Freshly ejaculated sperms from the male partner through masturbation. It is preferable to use fresh rather than frozen sperms. 
  4. The selected sperm is injected into the egg for fertilization under microscope.
  5. The fertilized egg is then transplanted into the woman’s uterus through a catheter.

Benefits of ICSI Treatment

  • ICSI significantly improves the chances of pregnancy in severe male factor
  • Men with very few sperms or with extremely poor sperm characters can get a chance to have their own genetic child
  • Families with genetic disease can opt for IVF-ICSI and PGT on embryos, to prevent the chances of offspring inheriting them.

Risks involved in ICSI

ICSI does not have too many risks involved if done under proper supervision at a proper medical facility. However, In some unusual cases, these are the risks that are involved in ICSI treatment.

  • There is a chance that the eggs might not fertilise. 
  • Male children born through ICSI may inherit the father’s risk of being infertile
  • These risks, however, are much lesser if the ICSI treatment is done from centres with experienced faculty

ICSI is a boon especially for male infertility. This advanced technology has helped countless childless couples to have their own biological child. ICSI has improved the success of artificial reproductive techniques many folds.