Fertilization (ICSI)

The intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedure involves the micro-injection of a single sperm cell into the ooplasm of a mature oocyte. The fertilized oocyte is then placed in an incubator to support its development into an embryo of transferrable quality, typically within 6-8 days. The produced embryos can either be frozen or, if produced during the breeding season, transferred fresh.

ICSI embryos are very small, allowing them to tolerate the freezing process exceptionally well. The frozen embryos are stored at InnovumLab and can be shipped out or thawed and transferred into a suitable recipient mare at any time upon request.

Advantages

  1. OPU and ICSI can be performed at any stage of the mare’s reproductive cycle (including anoestrus) and year-round. Since the embryos are frozen and can be stored indefinitely, they can be thawed and transferred when a suitable recipient mare becomes available.
  2. Recipients do not need to be synchronized with the donor mare, making it easier to also use a client-owned recipient mare.
  3. The competition schedule of a donor mare does not need to be interrupted as part of an embryo production and transfer program.
  4. The average number of embryos produced is higher with OPU-ICSI compared to conventional embryo flushing (2.1 embryos per OPU-ICSI session vs. 0.5 embryos per flushing)
  5. Donor mares that do not produce embryos through conventional embryo transfer may still be able to produce embryos via OPU and ICSI.
  6. Only one sperm cell is needed for each injected oocyte, making this method particularly useful when semen supply is limited, for subfertile stallions, or when using highly valuable or exclusive frozen semen. A single straw of frozen semen can be used for up to 10-12 ICSI sessions.

WHAT RESULTS CAN BE EXPECTED?

After maturation and assessment, approximately 71.6% of the oocytes from OPU will be matured and suitable for ICSI.

On average, 40% of injected oocytes develop into viable embryos.

The overall likelihood of getting one or more embryos per OPU session is around 60%. However, it has to be noted that whilst many mares are successful at producing embryos via OPU-ICSI, some mares will fail.

REQUIREMENTS

Frozen semen for the ICSI should be available at InnovumLab or shipped to us ahead of the OPU. We have a large selection of stallions available from Estonian and foreign stallion stations. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need more information.

Please be aware that each stallion station has its own payment terms and conditions for semen use in ICSI.

How can we help?

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