BLOG ARTICLE
Originally published in The West Australian Fertility Guide, 23 October 2024
One of the few independent and privately owned clinics in the state, Concept Fertility & Day Hospital prides itself on research expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and commitment to delivering the latest advancements in fertility technology such as pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT).
“Not all clinics in Western Australia have PGT capability, and as demand for genetic testing increases, we believe it’s extremely important for patients to have access to this service should they need it,” Concept Fertility & Day Hospital Scientific Director Melanie Walls said.
“We offer comprehensive PGT services, including PGT-A testing for whole chromosome abnormalities, PGT-SR testing for patients with inherited structural rearrangements or translocations and PGT-M testing for patients with inherited genetic conditions.” Chromosome abnormalities in embryos are a leading cause of first trimester miscarriages in pregnancy, with PGT assisting families with known life-threatening inheritable genetic conditions to have a healthy pregnancy. “When embryos are created, a small number of cells are removed from each embryo in our laboratory by an embryologist,” Dr Walls said. “These cells are then sent to a specialised genetics laboratory and analysed for the specific genetic condition or chromosomal abnormalities.”
Dr Walls said while chromosome abnormalities could originate in the egg, sperm or the embryo itself, it was well known and documented that the number of chromosome abnormalities in eggs produced increased with age.
“With PGT, we can check for the presence of specific gene mutations in an embryo for patients who have been affected or are carriers for genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy, or the genes associated with some cancers such as BRAC1 breast cancer,” she said. “The testing can increase the chances of a successful pregnancy and live birth for patients who have experienced multiple miscarriages or
failed in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle attempts. “PGT allows us to determine additional information about an embryo’s genetic makeup prior to transferring it to the uterus in the attempt to create a successful pregnancy. “This takes place during the IVF process if a patient has met the criteria for PGT.”
To be eligible for PGT, patients must be more than 35 years old, or have had two or more miscarriages, or experienced three or more failed IVF attempts, or have a known chromosomal or genetic condition, according to the Reproductive Technology Council.