A new technique in which women’s eggs are genetically screened could offer a new hope to childless couples. The success of new technique could help women who have failed to conceive with the help of IVF. The new technique, called CGH (comparative genomic hybridization) by microarray.
This technique could also make it easy for women to give birth later in their life when there is less chance of getting pregnant. According to experts the technique can only help them to recognize feasible eggs. Unlike other screening techniques, CGH tests all pairs of chromosomes in a cell.
The technique observed two polar bodies, though polar bodies are never fertilized. The chromosomes that they contain are an accurate copy of those in eggs before and at the time of fertilization. The study of the polar bodies therefore gives doctors an image of the internal genetic state of a woman’s eggs.
Though it focuses on female infertility, about ninety-five percent of chromosomal abnormalities that affect birth are found in women. They have learnt from more than thirty years of IVF study that many embryos they transfer have chromosomal abnormalities. The whole world of IVF has been trying to find an effectual method of screening for these abnormalities, explained Eshre chairman Professor Luca Gianaroli.
But now they have a new technology in array CGH and they hope that it will finally give a consistent means of evaluating the chromosomal status of the embryo they transfer. One benefit of the technique is that tests are carried out on eggs, not embryos due to be implanted into an IVF patient’s womb.
It is thought the technique would be useful for women experiencing repeated implantation failure or who suffer from chromosomal abnormalities that can lead to birth defects and miscarriages. Absolute chromosomal testing with array CGH can be finished within 12 to 13 hours. Consistent recognition of the chromosomal state of an egg was possible in ninety percent cases.