Is intracytoplasmic sperm injection safe? Current status and future concerns

In vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has revolutionized the treatment of patients with severe forms of male infertility. However, because ICSI has been performed for only 10 years, long-term outcomes and risks to offspring remain largely unknown. The fact that ICSI can potentially bypass natural selection barriers to genetic disease transmission has brought a sobering but important impetus to recent research on the risks and outcomes of ICSI. Several studies were done recently to examine specific risks to children born following ICSI. Because of rapid advances in the ICSI procedure itself, studies evaluating the safety of using immature sperm forms from the testis (spermatids, spermatocytes) also have been undertaken. This review summarizes recent studies examining the risks and long-term outcomes to date of in vitro fertilization with ICSI.