Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a technique in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg to increase the likelihood of fertilization. ICSI is helpful in cases where infertility is related to low sperm counts, poor sperm motility or quality, or sperm that are unable to penetrate the egg. Besides being useful for male infertility, ICSI is also employed to fertilize frozen eggs.
 

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is caused by an excess of testosterone and is the most frequent cause of infertility in reproductive-aged women. Conception is difficult for women with PCOS, as most experience irregular menstrual periods, often having only a few per year. High insulin levels are another symptom that can further contribute to menstrual irregularities. Additionally, PCOS may increase the risk of miscarriage because of the hormonal imbalance. Other symptoms are oily skin, acne, facial hair growth and weight problems.

A normal embryo must have forty-six chromosomes in the correct combination to be viable. As a woman ages, the number of eggs remaining in her ovaries decrease and the ones that remain are more likely to give rise to embryos with abnormal chromosome counts (aneuploidy). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) has been promoted as a method to screen embryos for aneuploidy. In this technique, a single cell is removed from the embryo when it is three days old. The biopsied cell then undergoes genetic or chromosomal analysis.