FAMILY PLANNING FOR PEOPLE WITH KNOWN GENETIC DISEASES

Genetics, or the study of genes and heredity in living organisms, has profoundly changed the way that we look at ourselves. We now have the ability to use our knowledge of genetics to improve the lives of our future offspring.

In the past few years, technological advancements have made it possible to screen for a variety of gene mutations that can carry diseases. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) provides you with the opportunity to screen your embryos for disease if you or members of your family know this disease to be present. We use PGD in conjunction with in vitro fertilisation (IVF): Once fertilisation occurs and embryos develop over the next 5 to 6 days to the blastocyst stage, the embryologists in our IVF laboratory biopsy a group of cells from each embryo. The biopsied cells are analysed in a genetic testing laboratory to determine if they are affected with the genetic disorder that you are known to carry. The blastocysts are cryopreserved until the results of the analysis are available from the laboratory. The embryos that are normal—not affected by the genetic disorder they were screened for—can then be thawed and transferred to the uterus in a subsequent frozen embryo transfer cycle.

This technique provides you with peace of mind, knowing that you are not passing on these genetic disorders to your future offspring.

EGG DONOR TREATMENT AND PGD

If a known genetic disease is a concern for you then you may wish to consider egg donor treatment. Shady Grove Fertility provides egg donor treatment in the UK and this could be the treatment option for you.

We have the largest In-House Fresh Donor Registry in the United States, with fully screened donors and a streamlined process, which has resulted in over 8,000 donor egg babies born and counting. We offer a Shared Risk 100% Refund Guaranteed Programme and a Shared Donor Programme, both of which can make donor egg treatment a reality for you. 

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