Assisted reproduction
Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
PGT (Pre-implantation Genetic Testing) or PGD (Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis) involves primary prevention methods which enable us to anticipate the detection of genetic anomalies, in both the chromosomes (PGT-A, PGT-SR) and genes (PGT-M) of embryos, thus facilitating the selection of viable embryos for transfer to the uterus.
The objective of Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
The objective of PGD is to increase the chance that babies will be born healthy, with no chromosomal syndromes or hereditary diseases, using high tech equipment on each of the embryos which were previously obtained via IVF.
What does PGT/PGD consist of?
The technique consists of extracting a small number of cells (2-7) from each embryo which was able to develop to the stage of an expanded blastocyst, a state which isreached on day 5-6 of embryonic development. Once the biopsy has been carried out, the embryo is then frozen, awaiting the results from the genetics laboratory.
The cells obtained in the biopsy are analysed to check whether the embryo is
carrying any type of chromosomal or genetic anomaly. This allows us to select only those which are viable for subsequent transfer to the patient’s uterus.
PGD can put many couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatments at ease as it avoids many cases of miscarriage and it increases the chances of having a healthy baby by avoiding the transmission of certain diseases.
Dreams that came true
We went to Ginefiv because it worked for a few of my friends and they are mums
now. The prognosis wasn’t very favourable because my ovarian reserve was low, but
the doctor told us that the eggs might be good quality.
I went for my first insemination and it was really emotional knowing that it was virtually impossible that it would happen on the first try, but at the beta test I already
suspected that I was pregnant. And they gave us the news we had been hoping for:
we were pregnant! Yes, it worked on the first go.
Our little Olivia was born nine months later and we couldn’t be more in love
We were advised to get IVF with microinjection and we got good embryos from it.
Three of these ‘little ones’ were transferred to me and I became pregnant with Cristina.
It all went so well and it was so easy that after 15 months we decided to go for a little
brother. It didn’t happen at first but we were lucky on the third try with frozen
embryos and we had our second child, Carolina. We couldn’t be happier
We were fed up with another clinic so we came here and what a good move that
was. I couldn’t get pregnant even after months and months, and the tests showed
there was nothing stopping it.
After a while though, it did happen for us. And even though I spent so long worrying
about my health, thinking about my baby changed my mood completely.
Thank-you all for the hard work.
We were recommended to go to Ginefiv by some friends and after our first visit,
looking at other clinics didn’t even cross our minds.
We went there after 7 years of unsuccessful treatments with the Social Security
healthcare system.
At Ginefiv I got pregnant with the second transfer.
I’ve only got good things to say about Ginefiv and the way they took care of us. We
found the best clinic and doctor in the world
When is Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) the right technique to use?
There are various situations in which PGD can be used and they are not always related to a family illness which is caused by detected and defined genetic anomalies, an abnormal parental karyotype, a medical history of miscarriages caused by chromosomal disorder, etc.
In general terms, PGD is used in the following cases:
- Patients who have been diagnosed with chromosomal anomalies which may be transmitted to their descendents.
- In cases of more advanced maternal age, i.e. women over 35.
- Women who have suffered recurrent miscarriage.
- Couples with prior embryo implantation failure in two or more IVF cycles.
Are PGT/PGD results reliable?
The certainty of results is very high but it must be born in mind that, like in all biological techniques, they are not 100% reliable. To start with, given that only a
small amount of biological material is available, there is a risk that when a single cell is taken it will not be representative, for example if mosaicism (when there are
various genetic lines with distinct genetic information within the same organism) has occurred. However, as the risk of this is low, the results of that cell can be considered valid in 95% of cases.
