Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), is a promising treatment option for couples who are at risk for transmitting a genetic disease to their children. PGD is performed following IVF by our highly trained embryologists who biopsy your developing embryos in order to screen for any potential chromosomal or genetic abnormalities. There are different reasons why North Dallas IVF may recommend PGD or genetic screening (PGS) be performed, including:
- Single gene disorders: There is a wide range of genetic diseases that can be detected using PGD, enabling us to transfer healthy, unaffected embryos. If you have a genetically transmitted disease in your medical or family history, please be sure to inform your physician during your initial patient consultation. We work in conjunction with our trained genetic counselors to minimize the risk of transmitting a genetically inherited disease to your children.
- Translocations: Chromosomal translocations are structural chromosomal abnormalities that can be transmitted to your children, resulting in failed pregnancies, miscarriages or birth defects. In the case of a translocation, regions of two different chromosomes are aberrantly exchanged. Although someone with a balanced translocation collectively possesses a full complement of chromosomes, there is a very high risk of a problem arising when that person tries to reproduce due to the potential of transferring a defective chromosome to the developing offspring. Fortunately, PGD can identify which embryos carry a translocation. This applications has been shown to drastically reduce the risk of miscarriage and, therefore, increase chances of a having a healthy baby.
- Gender: Gender selection has become a popular option for couples desiring to choose the sex of their children. Gender selection is sometimes referred to as “family balancing.” Gender selection may be used to reduce the risk of transmitting sex-linked genetic diseases to an offspring in “at risk” couples. Other couples may perform PGD for gender selection simply to experience the joy of raising both a male and female child.
- Aneuploidy: Aneuploidy is a condition in which there is an extra or missing chromosome, as is the case with Down Syndrome. The risk of aneuploidy rises significantly with advancing maternal age. Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) allows the physician and embryologists to screen for aneuploid embryos prior to the embryo transfer procedure. This helps avoid a pregnancy with a genetic problem.
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) is defined as the occurrence of three or more consecutive losses of clinically recognized pregnancies prior to the twentieth week of gestation. In many cases, there is not an identified cause for recurrent pregnancy loss. However, studies have shown that a very high percentage of pregnancy losses occur due to genetic or chromosome abnormalities occurring in the embryos. Depending on the results of your diagnostic work-up, PGD/PGS may be recommended for your case of RPL.
At North Dallas IVF, our success with donor eggs, frozen embryos and preimplantation genetic screening demonstrates our commitment to using only high-quality laboratory and embryology services. We will be happy to discuss your options for improving your outcome with genetic testing, realizing that testing will not make the embryos normal and, in some cases, we will not recommend genetic testing if it will not likely improve your chances of having a baby.