PGD is a process whereby a single blastomere from an 8-cell embryo
(three days post fertilization) is removed,
fixed, and subjected to a number of DNA probes. We can now determine if an embryo
is a male or a female, or has an extra chromosome,
i.e. 13, 16, 18, 21, 22. The results can be obtained within 24 hours which allows
the laboratory another 24 hours to grow the normal embryos
to Blastocyst (five days post fertilization)
for embryo transfer.
Early studies have shown that women with advanced maternal age
> 39 years old, and women who have failed > two IVF cycles, have as many as
50% of their embryos with aneuploidy
(having an abnormal number of chromosomes),
when doing PGD. This can certainly be an explanation for the low rates of success
in IVF outcomes in these
patients. In a third group of patients, those with recurrent
pregnancy loss (RPL), it is known that in 50% of this group the loss is
due to a genetic abnormality.
Clearly, PGD has improved the outcome in these groups of patients.
Coastal Fertility Medical Center is pleased to announce that we are now offering
PGD to our patients. It is our hope that we can provide valuable information
to our patients to allow them to make appropriate choices.