[LisaB]

Hi ladies, I'm a graduate of this board. I rarely post here anymore, but I had to share the news - a new alternative is being developed to PGD that is non-invasive and less expensive. It sounds awesome! Apparently it seems just as effective as PGD and can help your RE do single embryo transfers as opposed to multiple, which turned out to be a nightmare for us.

With PGD, one cell is removed from your embryo when it reaches the 8-cell stage. Usually the embryo is unharmed and keeps on dividing (the cells are undifferentiated at this point so in theory removing one does no harm) but because a needle is being poked into the delicate embryo and 1/8 of its genetic material is removed, it is thought that this may harm the embryo and cause it to stop growing. It is also an expensive procedure, for us nearly $7000 on top of the already expensive IVF. Not to mention, one of our four "healthy" embryos stopped growing after the PGD.

With the new test, cumulus cells from around the exterior of the embryo are tested instead, eliminating the need to penetrate the embryo and remove genetic material.

Here is the link:

BBC News - Non-invasive embryo gene screen

[Servilia]

Thanks for that Lisa!!