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Home › Articles › Trouble Getting Pregnant › Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

Ensuring Your Baby's Health

By Gwen Morrison

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Dr. Ginsburg says that couples at risk for x-linked diseases may opt to transfer only female embryos back into the uterus, since the male offspring are affected. An example of an x-linked disease would be muscular dystrophy.

The Risks
"The act of biopsying an embryo may decrease its ability to adhere to the uterine lining," says Dr. Ginsburg. In some cases all of the embryos are found to be abnormal when screened, which results in an IVF cycle in which none of the embryos are transferred.

For a family history of a disorder, the laboratory will test for the specific defect. The test doesn't reveal other genetic defects that might be involved.

"The downside of PGD is that it requires taking strong injectable fertility meds for about 10 days, having an anesthetic and a minor surgical procedure to get the eggs out," says Dr. Machelle M. Seibel, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, Mass. "In addition to the physical cost, the price in dollars is $8,000 to $12,000, and the success is probably not more than 25 to 30 percent in the best of hands. If you are already doing IVF, you must balance lowering the chance of success by manipulating the embryos or having results that are ambiguous and therefore not reliable (this is a small but real problem) with eliminating abnormal embryos that might have miscarried and resulted in a loss."

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