Medical technology today has advanced significantly. Besides increasing the chances for couples facing difficulties in having children to be able to have children, techniques have also been developed to enhance the completeness and strength of embryos so they can be born as babies as new parents have dreamed. Dr. Nopparat Chaiburanapanakul, an obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in infertility and reproductive medicine at Phyathai 3 Hospital, will explain the technology of preimplantation embryo testing that helps ensure babies are free from genetic diseases.
Genetic-level “Embryo” Cell Testing
For fertility techniques involving in vitro fertilization or “test-tube babies,” after fertilization, when the embryo has divided into 6-8 cells, some embryo cells can be taken out for genetic disease testing without affecting embryo development. There are two methods for preimplantation embryo testing:
- Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis of embryo abnormalities (PGD: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) is used in cases where the family already knows there is a specific genetic disease, such as thalassemia.
- Preimplantation Genetic Screening of embryo abnormalities (PGS: Preimplantation Genetic Screening) This test can be done for general couples even without any genetic history but who want to select normal embryos for implantation in the uterus. It helps increase the chances of pregnancy and having genetically normal children, such as women over 35 years old, women with a history of recurrent miscarriage of 3 or more times, women with unsuccessful IVF attempts multiple times, and cases where the male partner has severe sperm abnormalities, etc.
Currently, there are many genetic testing methods, each with its advantages, disadvantages, and varying accuracy, such as FISH, PCR, WGA, CGH, DNA microarray, DNA sequencing, etc. The number of chromosomes tested varies from 5 pairs (chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, Y), 7 pairs (chromosomes 13, 16, 18, 21, 22, X, Y) up to testing all pairs (Whole Chromosome).
Therefore, couples planning to have children should consult a specialist in infertility treatment to choose the most effective and appropriate method, allowing them to have the healthiest and strongest children possible.
Dr. Nopparat Chaiburanapanakul
Obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in infertility
and reproductive medicine
Phyathai 3 Hospital: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Tel. 1772
