Method of Preimplantation Diagnosis
For preimplantation diagnosis to happen, the patient undergoes IVF cycle, embryos are produced and either at the stage of 8 cells (3rd day) or at the stage of blastocyst (5th day) the embryos are biopsied. During biopsy, some cells are removed from the embryos and are sent for genetic analysis. In order to make the preimplantation diagnosis, the cells are genetically tested for all their chromosomes or even for a specific gene of interest with the ARRAY-CGH method and thus the embryos that are normal are isolated from those that have this specific abnormal gene or carry another chromosomally detectable pathology.
The preimplantation diagnosis technique is completely safe for embryos and has already led to the birth of thousands of children. Moreover, because the couples who are forced to apply the method do not usually have fertility issues, the success rates are surprisingly high, reaching 70-75%.
