ICSI

What Is it?

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a technique developed and commercially applied in horses for the production of in vitro embryos where a single sperm is injected into each oocyte.

Steps Involved

Follicular Aspiration, also known as Ovum Pick Up (OPU) or Transvaginal Aspiration (TVA), of mares to obtain oocytes (eggs).
Production of embryos in the laboratory: Maturation, ICSI, Embryo Cultivation
Transfer of embryos to recipient mares
Vitrification of embryos (cryopreservation/freezing technique)

Process Flow

Foals all over the world have been produced using this technique, with champions in many disciplines.

Indications

Breeding to stallions with low sperm motility or viability
Use of rare semen from stallions with low availability or high value
Mares that do not ovulate
Donor Mares that are unsuccessful with conventional embryo flushing due to problems with the uterus, oviduct, and/or cervix
Mares or Stallions actively showing/performing on a demanding schedule
Stock of vitrified (frozen) embryos for sale or genetic banking

Expected Results

Dependent upon mare, stallion, OPU technique and ICSI lab
10-15 oocytes on average per mare per aspiration
25% average conversion rate of oocytes to embryos
3 embryos is the average production from a donor/aspiration
60% average initial pregnancy rate of transferred embryos
18-20% average rate of embryonic death of embryos
Final pregnancy rate of 50%

ICSI results may vary due to factors such as:

Donor preparation
Quality of donor occytes, which can be affected by advanced age, inadequate nutrition, medications, presence of pathology (disease), and individual intrinsic effects
Quality of stallion sperm, which can be affected by individual subfertility, medications harmful to spermatogenesis, pathology (disease), and incorrect storage
Quality and choice of recipient mare

FAQ

There are trained professionals all over the USA that can recover oocytes from donor mares and have them shipped to Reliance In Vitro. The closest facility to our lab offering OPU is the Lazy E Ranch.

OPU can be done with any number of follicles, however, the more follicles a mare has, the more oocytes are available for recovery, and the more opportunities we have tocreate embryos. On average 10+ follicles yields successful results.

The quality of the oocytes is very variable from one mare to another and tends to decline with the aging of the donor, bringing lower success rates compared to younger mares.

The number of oocytes can also be a limiting factor. Some mares have multiple follicles increasing the chances of obtaining oocytes.

Other mares usually have few and, in this case, we have less chances.

Yes, but the laboratory will use more than one stallion for the same donor only when she has at least 8 mature oocytes.

We prefer to use one stallion per mare per aspiration.

The vitrification protocol currently used in our laboratory has produced the same pregnancy rate as that of fresh embryos. The advantage of vitrification is that these embryos can be thawed at a time when the supply of quality recipients is greater, contributing significantly to successful results.

There are many recipient mare facilities that have mares available for fresh and/or frozen embryo transfer. We recommend that you have a recipient mare contract in place before breeding season begins to reserve your mare(s) with them. We are happy to send your embryo to whichever facility you wish to partner with.