A method used to exclude the risk of dangerous genetic disorders being transferred to your children.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnostics (PGD)
Pre-implantation genetic diagnostics (PGD) is a technique which makes it possible to detect diseases and defects that a child may inherit from its parents. It offers a chance to all couples at risk of passing on genetic disorders to their children.
What is PGD?
PGD is a form of prenatal genetic diagnosis. It makes it possible to detect or exclude very early a large number of diseases, including the Patau syndrome, Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome and Turner’s syndrome as well as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia, spinal muscular atrophy, Huntington's disease and haemophilia.
The effectiveness of PGD in detecting defects depends on how many chromosomes are tested for abnormalities. Therefore, InviMed cooperates with the Igenomix Laboratory in Valencia, a European leader in genetic diagnostics. A specialist team of excellent embryologists carries out PGD tests on the set of chromosomes: 22 pairs of chromosomes and the X and Y chromosomes. Test results are available 24 hours after a sample is delivered to the laboratory.
InviMed is the only clinic in Poland to offer such advanced PGD testing. The quality of the tests offered by the clinic is incomparable with the quality of other tests offered in Poland.
Indications for PGD
- Couples with a history of recurrent miscarriages due to genetic disorders,
- Couples with a history of recurrent failures after IVF,
- Men diagnosed with significantly damaged sperm,
- Couples who already have a child suffering from a genetic disorder,
- Couples with a family history of genetic disorders,
- Couples, in whom earlier tests revealed chromosomal translocation, i.e. rearrangement of parts between chromosomes, which may cause problems with embryo implantation, recurrent miscarriages, psychological or physical problems in a child,
- Patients who are carriers of such conditions as: cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia, Tay-Sachs disease, dwarfism and Huntington’s disease.
How does PGD work?
- PGD is carried out on embryos during an IVF cycle.
- Embryo biopsy
- Embryos are collected for testing 72-76 hours after fertilization, when they are at the 6-8 cell stage. This procedure requires high precision and is performed by the most experienced embryologists. After the biopsy, embryos are returned to the incubator so that they may continue to develop. The biopsy of an embryo cell does not affect the proper development of the embryo. The risk that the embryo will stop developing after the biopsy is 0.53%.
- Genetic diagnostics
- Cells obtained by biopsy are prepared for analysis and subjected to genetic testing.
- Embryo transfer
- Embryo transfer takes place immediately after the results of the genetic analysis are obtained, usually 4 or 5 days after the collection of eggs (puncture).