PGD is a reproductive technique used along side in vitro fertilization (IVF) by couples at risk of passing on serious genetic condition.
WHAT IS PREIMPLANTATON GENETIC DIAGNOSIS?
PGD is a technique that enables couples with a particular inherited condition in their family to avoid passing it on to their children. The process helps potential parents prevent the birth of a child with a serious genetic condition. PGD is used when a couple has a known risk of passing on a genetic abnormality and diagnostic testing is performed on an embryo to determine if it has also inherited the abnormality.
PGD involves the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Eggs are obtained and fertilized through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Once fertilized, the embryos develop for 5-6 days and then a number of cells are removed from each embryo. The genetic material (DNA or chromosomes) within these cells of the embryo is then tested for the genetic or chromosomal abnormality. An unaffected embryo is then transferred to the woman’s uterus to implant. If successful, the procedure will result in pregnancy and the child should not be affected by the condition for which it was tested.
WHO CAN USE PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS?
Couples generally considered for PGD include:
- Carriers of a serious* autosomal recessive condition: For carriers of an autosomal recessive condition, there is a 1 in 4 (25%) risk of each pregnancy delivering an affected child.
- Carriers of a serious autosomal dominant condition: For carriers of an autosomal dominant condition, there is a 1 in 2 (50%) risk of each pregnancy delivering an affected child.
- Couples with inherited chromosome disorders.
- Couples with a family history of serious sex-linked disorders: Couples with a family history of a sex-linked disorder have a 1 in 4 (25%) risk of each pregnancy delivering an affected child (half of all male children).
- Sex selection : couples with desire for specific gender.
HOW MUCH DOES PGD COST?
1-Included services:
• Ovarian stimulation monitoring
• Anesthesia for egg retrieval
• Egg retrieval procedure
• Fertilization by ICSI and culture of the embryos
• Trophectoderm biopsy of blastocysts
• Vitrification (freezing) of the embryos
• PGS testing by Genesis Genetics
• Frozen embryo transfer cycle
2- Services not included:
- Pre-IVF screening
- Medications
- Pregnancy testing and early pregnancy monitoring
- Consultations with a doctor
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis involves testing done on embryos from in vitro fertilization prior to transferring to the uterus. The testing is done to check for a specific genetic abnormality (a disease like cystic fibrosis), or, more commonly, to determine if the embryos are chromosomally normal (aneuploidy screening, PGS).
There are several variables involved in the cost of PGD
- The cost of in vitro fertilization at the PGD clinic
- The cost of IVF medications
- Embryo biopsy procedure costs at the PGD clinic
- Chromosomal and/or genetic analysis costs - the PGD testing
IVF SUCCESS RATES AND PGD
* Another concern with preimplantation genetic diagnosis costs is the IVF success rate of the clinic doing the in vitro procedures. This is something couples that do PGD testing may not think about.
* Successful rate in ABAN HOSPITAL IVF at present is about 40 %.