Newly Published Article Details How PGS Techniques Directly Effect Successful Pregnancy Outcomes

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Fertility
Article Date: 28 May 2009 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

A group of fertility experts, who pioneered the development of Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS), are sharing the step-by-step best practices and explaining what errors can be made along the way.

The article, published in the latest edition of Fertility and Sterility, details when PGS should be used, emphasizes proper embryo biopsy technique and reveals the most common errors made with the ultimate goal of educating clinics, embryologists and other experts to improve pregnancy outcomes.

When done correctly, PGS can be used to improve the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for women of advanced maternal age and recurrent pregnancy loss. Research shows that many times IVF fails because a majority of embryos created in vitro are chromosomally abnormal. When done correctly, PGS screens the most important chromosomes in terms of preimplantation aneuploidy (22, 16, 21 and 15), improving implantation rates.

Dr. Santiago Munne, of Reprogenetics, LLC. in Livingston, NJ, who has performed close to 15 thousand PGS cases, says this article is a must-read in any center that performs PGS.

"This article is the result of years of research and refining the PGS technique that have allowed us to achieve the success rates that we have seen," says Dr. Munne. "The techniques and technology described in this paper are required in order to improve successful pregnancy outcomes."

The article gives explicit detail about each step of the PGS process including opening the zona pellucida, removing the cell, cell fixation, how many chromosomes should be analyzed, and error rate criteria. As previous studies have shown, improper technique as well as inexperienced technicians or inadequate training, can lead to extremely increased error rates and ultimately IVF failure.

"The problem is, entire studies have been conducted where proper protocol has not been followed, causing doctors to come to conclusions that are often inaccurate," states Munne. "It is clear that not all laboratories can reproduce positive results. In those laboratories, PGS should be considered experimental."

Source: Reprogenetics, LLC