Embryos can be tested for many of the most common chromosomal abnormalities that are seen in miscarriages before they are transferred into a woman’s uterus. The testing of embryos prior to transfer is called PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis). This testing has been shown to reduce the risk of miscarriage. Women who have difficulty becoming pregnant at in vitro, and who miscarry when they do become pregnant, may produce a high percentage of abnormal embryos (sometimes as many as seventy-to-eighty percent abnormal). You cannot always tell which are the normal vs. abnormal embryos when you look at them. Sometimes the most perfect looking embryos are abnormal. For some women, PGD can allow the doctor to choose the best embryos for transfer into the woman’s uterus and therefore optimize her outcome. I hope PGD has been used in at least some of your in vitro cycles. Then you would know what proportion of the embryos you produce are normal. That information can help you to decide whether it is worth considering additional in vitro cycles using your own eggs or if you would be better served to consider using donor eggs from younger woman (pregnancy rates with donor eggs can be as high as seventy-to-eighty percent).
Read the May Fertile Thoughts Column
Fertile Thoughts is published monthly. Each column features a real question from a reader, and we invite other readers to respond with their thoughts and insights by posting comments. If you have a question for Dr. Carlene Elsner, please send it to her care of the editor at laura@realgirlsmedia.com. Your question will be kept in the strictest of confidence.
Never miss a Fertile Thoughts column again. Just click on the author’s name at the top of the story, then select “Be notified when writer publishes” at the top of the page. We’ll send you an email as soon as a new column is published.
PREVIOUS PAGE
