Helix Clinic blog

If fertility consultants had a way to check collected eggs for chromosome abnormalities, they would be able to reduce the chances of miscarriage or birth defects after implantation. Recently, in Nottingham, doctors collected 9 eggs from a woman undergoing treatment and were successful in using a new screening technique to help identify the best eggs with intact chromosomes. The 41 year old woman had previously had 2 miscarriages and 13 subsequent unsuccessful courses of IVF, but fell pregnant after the cycle that used the new screening process.

The process could also potentially be helpful to doctors wanting to reduce the number of twins and triplets as a result of IVF, as it could improve the chances of selecting the most promising embryo and reducing the need to implant 2 or more in any given cycle.

The technique has not yet been subject to full rigorous trials so will probably not be widely available for some time yet, but seems a promising development in fertility medicine.

Tags: chromosome abnormalities, egg screening, infertility, IVF, miscarriage