27th November 2012 | by MFC Team
New IVF screening tool claims to turn fertility clock back 10 years
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a common infertility treatment, which involves a woman taking medications in preparation for a surgery where some of her eggs are removed from her ovaries. These eggs are fertilized with her partner’s sperm or the sperm of a donor. One or two of the resulting embryos are then transferred into the woman’s uterus with any remaining embryos being frozen for future use. Success rates with IVF vary depending on the age of the woman and the quality of the embryos, with the highest success rates being for women under 35 years of age.
A new screening tool that is part of the IVF process claims to be able to significantly increase the odds of conception and reduce the rates of miscarriage for women undergoing IVF. This new procedure, Comprehensive Chromosome Screening with Vitrification, involves testing the cells of 4 to 5 day old embryos (blastocyst), freezing those with a normal number of chromosomes (vitrification), and subsequently transferring one or two embryos to a woman’s uterus, thereby increasing the likelihood of a viable pregnancy.
This procedure could be particularly helpful to women in their 40s who face significantly higher risks of miscarriage than younger women. Dr. Mandy Katz-Jaffe, a researcher and fertility specialist investigating this new fertility procedure, said: “… what we’ve been able to show is that a woman aged 38 to 42, if she has a blastocyst with a normal number of chromosomes, her chances of implantation are independent of her age. So she has the same chances of implantation – at 60 per cent – as a woman who is 32.” However, the procedure is still experimental and controversial, with older women facing a number of increased health risks during pregnancy.
Read an article about this new screening tool here:
New IVF screening can turn fertility clock back 10 years by only picking embryos most likely to develop healthy [Daily Mail Online]
Leave a Reply