In women over 38 years old, 79% of embryos have chromosomal abnormalities, which is a major reason for recurrent miscarriages or IVF failures. The risk of abnormalities grows as the age of the mother increases.

Most embryos with an incorrect number of chromosomes fail to implant or miscarry during the first trimester of pregnancy. In the late pregnancy, the baby is also prone to develop chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, and Patau syndrome. Test like Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) from IGENOMIX can be performed to check the chromosomal aneuploidies, which will increase the success rate of healthy pregnancy.

What is PGS?

PGS for aneuploidy is a powerful genetic test that may be performed on embryos during IVF treatment to screen for numerical chromosomal abnormalities. This procedure allows to analyze all 24 chromosome types in order to discard the possibility of embryonic aneuploidy before implantation.

How PGS testing will help me to conceive?

Over 50% of spontaneous miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities. Some birth defects are caused by chromosome abnormalities and the risks of having a child with a chromosome abnormality increase with maternal age. Couples who are at increased risk of having aneuploid embryos should consider using PGS testing. The selection of chromosomally normal embryos in these couples greatly reduces the risk of miscarriage and increases the chances of healthy pregnancy.

Why to opt for PGS?

PGS is a tool that can provide you and your patients with more information about their embryos and aid in minimizing the risk of transferring embryos with chromosomal abnormalities. There are many benefits of PGS testing for patients looking to have a healthy child. Some of the benefits PGS testing include:

• avoids the chance of transferring a chromosomally abnormal embryo.
• Reducing miscarriage rate which is commonly due to chromosome abnormalities.
• Knowing the chromosome status of each embryo and thus increase the likelihood of achieving pregnancy with IVF.

How is PGS performed?

PGS is performed on a small embryo biopsy prior to transfer and identifies which embryos are chromosomally normal. Chromosomally normal embryos are the most likely to develop to term and to be born as a healthy baby. PGS testing helps IVF physicians and patients decide which embryos to transfer.

Could PGS damage my embryos?

Embryo biopsy and micro-manipulation of embryos have been carried out in laboratories across the world, and have been used in genetic cases for more than 25 years. Studies so far have shown these procedures are perfectly safe and don’t cause any increased risk to the embryos.

How PGS work for you?

PGS improves your chances of achieving a successful pregnancy. One of the most common reasons to have PGS performed is the mother’s age, since the risk of having a child with a chromosomal abnormality, such as Down Syndrome, increases as a woman ages. Genetic screening of the preimplantation embryo can determine whether the embryo could potentially be affected by a chromosomal abnormality or not.