One common question the andrology laboratory receives is what type of vial of donor sperm should I order? In a previous post, one of our Embryologists, Callie, explained the difference between vial types and what type should be ordered for IVF and IUI procedures. This post breaks down the types and why you should purchase one type over the other. However, as the Invocell procedure has gained more popularity as a lower cost alternative to IVF with ICSI, we have seen an increase in patients asking what type of donor sperm vial to order for Invocell.
Unlike IVF with ICSI, Invocell incubates the eggs with the sperm instead of injecting one sperm into each egg. This means that we want to retain a high concentration of sperm after the washing process in the laboratory. When ordering donor sperm for an Invocell procedure it is best to purchase the ICI unwashed vials. These vials will go through a washing procedure at Carolina Conceptions before the sperm is added to the eggs. We do this to make sure to wash any cryopreservative and non-motile sperm out of the sample, leaving only the motile sperm in our final sample. ART vials have too low of a concentration of sperm and vials washed by the sperm bank will still need to be washed at Carolina Conceptions to remove that cryopreservative, risking the reduction of motile sperm due to the wash process.
In Summary:
For Invocell, order ICI Unwashed vials.