Genetic Testing and Sex Selection

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) or Pre-implantation Genetic Testing (PGT) or PGS:

 

PGT or PGD technology reduces the potential for adverse pregnancy outcomes for couples ‘at risk’ by testing the embryos for certain genetic abnormalities before they are chosen for transfer. 

Genetic testing or diagnosis on pre-implantation embryos may be indicated for patients who are at risk for genetic disorders such as Thalassemia and for patients with infertility related to chromosomal abnormalities such as recurrent pregnancy loss or repeated unsuccessful IVF or for gender (sex) selection (to choose boys or girls). 

 

Pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) or PGD is a procedure used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to select embryos free of chromosomal abnormalities and specific genetic disorders before transfer to the uterus. PGT or PGD improves the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and birth for two distinctly different groups of patients; couples with infertility related to recurrent miscarriage or unsuccessful IVF cycles and couples who are at risk for passing on an inherited genetic disease to their offspring.

Pre-implantation genetic testing may be recommended by your physician when there is a possibility, indicated by your medical history or advanced maternal age, which could affect your embryos by a genetic disease. PGD can only be performed during an IVF cycle where eggs and sperm, united in the laboratory, then develop into embryos. On the 3rd day or 5th day a biopsy is done on each embryo to make a chromosomal study and after the testing results on day 5, only the normal embryos would be selected for embryo transfer, reducing the possibility of miscarriage or birth defects.

We can also use PGD for gender selection. We choose the required embryos upon their sex, boys or girls before doing the embryo transfer for family planning. We can freeze the healthy embryos that were not chosen for the transfer.

 

 

Gender or sex selection / Family planning:

 

IVF + Pre-implantaion genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an excellent tool to choose the sex of the embryo before uterine embryo transfer. 3 or 5 days after fertilization in the IVF lab a cell biopsy is done from each embryo using laser and under a special microscope. It is 99% precise in detecting the gender of the embryo. After the embryo biopsy, a chromosome study will be done on the Y and X chromosomes to determine the exact sex, a boy or a girl. 

The women will start on the 2nd or 3rd day of the period injections for about 8 - 12 days before making the egg retrieval and fertilization. The embryo transfer of the desired embryos depending on their sex will be done on day 5 after the fertilization. The embryos that were not transferred could be frozen for later use or if not frozen they will stop growing on day 5 - 7 because the embryos cannot live in the culture media of the IVF Lab more than that.