Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to assess the incidence of oocyte damage (oocyte lysis) following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and its association with oocyte quality and with the personnel performing the procedure. Data concerning damage were accumulated from a laboratory database that tabulated the results of each patient's ICSI results. The incidence of lysis following ICSI was 4.8% of all injected oocytes. The number of oocytes injected and the incidence of intact (not lysed) oocytes that were fertilized by ICSI both were inversely correlated with the incidence of lysis. Individual technicians had distinctively different profiles of lysis, 1PN and 3PN embryos. Technicians in training had slightly elevated incidence of lysis. Whereas evidence is presented that both patient-specific oocyte quality and technician-specific performance are significantly related to the incidence of lysis, the small incremental incidence of lysis associated with each source leads us to believe that the incidence of lysis is largely unpredictable and unsystematic in nature.