Individuals or couples in the Pembroke Pines, Florida who are experiencing infertility and choose to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other assisted reproductive technologies (ART) may also choose certain ancillary services and procedures. One such procedure is called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This is used to check for genetic defects in embryos that are created through IVF when one or both parents have a known genetic abnormality. With this procedure, the embryos are checked for some of the most common chromosome abnormalities so that normal embryos are used with the procedure.
Various genetic disorders may be diagnosed using PGD, although not all disorders are identified using this procedure. About eight days after the fertilization occurs, the embryo may have about eight cells. With PGD, one or two cells may be removed by biopsy and tested for genetic abnormalities. What's more, another procedure called comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) allows cells to be removed from the embryo at a later stage. After five days about 100 cells may be present, so removing cells may cause less damage. More cells are analyzed in this manner as well.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis (FISH) uses fluorescent probes to check for genetic abnormalities. This analysis is used for sex determination purposes in diseases linked to gender. It is also used for numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities. Another technique used is called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is used to detect mutation of a single gene. Haplotyping uses DNA fingerprinting to identify chromosomes that are carrying affected genes, while DNA Chip or Gene Chip allows the embryo's DNA to be compared to more than 20,000 genetic mutations.
Before undergoing PGD, couples or individuals should speak with a specialist in the Pembroke Pines area to help determine if they are a good candidate for this procedure. Candidates for preimplantation genetic diagnosis include couples with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss due to genetic disorders, couples with repeated IVF failure, men with severe male factor infertility, couples who have a child with a genetic disease and are at risk of having another, couples who are looking for tissue match for a sick sibling who may be cured with transplanted cells, couples with family history of X-linked disorders, carriers of autosomal recessive diseases, carriers of autosomal dominant diseases and couples with chromosome translocations. Before undergoing any procedure, interested individuals should always check with a trained professional to ensure that it is safe to do so.
Learn more about preimplantation genetic diagnosis in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
