PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS (PGD)

Currently, we can understand the genetic coding of an embryo prior to being placed in the uterus, thanks to the development of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).

In its beginning stages, PGD was indicated in cases of pregnancies in older women, since age is a factor that decreased the chances of conceiving a child, increases the chance of miscarriage, and also increases the probability of having a child with Down syndrome (trisomy 21). Since then, the usefulness of this study has been expanded to include:

• severe male factor
• habitual miscarriage
• fertilization failures
• karyotypic alterations

PGD is a process that takes place on the third to fifth day of embryonic development after ICSI has been completed, using low micromanipulation techniques, 1 or 2 cells are extracted from the embryos and their nuclei analyzed for genetic formation.

The embryo is maintained in culture medium, and can be transferred or frozen as soon as the diagnosis is known and under favorable conditions.