• If there is a genetic condition present in your family, you may wish to explore options to reduce the risk of passing the condition to your child. We can advise if it is possible to test for the condition using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) more recently called PGT-M. This usually involves the genetics laboratory making a test custom designed for your situation. We can work with you and your clinic and the genetics laboratory to facilitate the test development. 

 

• A test that screens embryos for a healthy balance of chromosomes is called Pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) or more recently PGT-A. Traditionally, embryos are chosen according to their appearance under the microscope. PGT-A can be used as an additional selection technique for some patients where after genetic testing embryos that are identified at low risk of chromosome differences are selected for transfer. Sometimes the result of the genetic test of an embryo may not be clear, these embryos are called mosaic. We can work with you and your clinic to help understand the implications of PGT-A test results for mosaic embryos. 

 

• Saviour siblings is the term used to describe a technology that can be used to ensure a child is a tissue match for an older sibling that has a life limiting condition. A transfusion of stem cells (harvested from the umbilical cord) matched for the same blood proteins can sometimes be the best option for a family. This testing is called pre-implantation tissue typing or PTT. In some cases, the condition the ill child has may be inherited, so PGT-M and or PGT-A can be used to identify the healthiest embryo that does not have the condition and is also tissue match. In the UK each family must seek approval for their case from the HFEA which regulate IVF treatment. We can work with you, your child’s medical team, IVF clinic and genetic laboratories to give you the best chance of a successful application.