Options for Couples Who Are Genetic Disease Carriers
Fertility Planit - Alexandria Center
Conference Room 1
Mark Hughes
MD, PhD, Laboratory Founder, Genesis Genetics
Preimplantation Genetics has now been used for over 20 years first to help genetically at-risk couples begin their pregnancy knowing that their child will be healthy. The technology has expanded into also helping couples suffering from infertility improve (dramatically) their likelihood of having a successful IVF cycle. By examining a small biopsy from each IVF embryo, both genes and chromosomes are examined simultaneously, overnight in the laboratory, while the couple's embryos continue to develop in the incubator. Using the technologies of gene chips, whole genome sequencing, targeted gene mutation interrogation, pregnancy rates in IVF have soared and severe inherited disease removed from a couple's genetic tree.
