PGD in Cyprus

“By applying the latest scientific breakthroughs to evaluate the genetics of an embryo before the embryo transfer — preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) at euroCARE IVF is used to prevent certain diseases or disorders from being passed on to the child.”

— euroCARE IVF

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) Cyprus is a procedure used along with IVF Cyprus before implantation that screens embryos for detect genetic disorders. The ultimate goal of IVF PGD Cyprus is to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed onto the child.

IVF with PGD Cyprus Process

After ovarian stimulation, multiple eggs are collected from the ovaries of the mother. The eggs are fertilized in our state-of-the-art lab using an ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) method. At this point, the collected sperm will be processed, selected and injected into the collected eggs in order to achieve pregnancy.

After a few days the fertilized eggs, now called embryos, will be tested for genetic defects. Embryos will be graded and selected for implantation. Only the healthiest, unaffected embryo(s) will be transferred to the mother’s uterus to establish a pregnancy.

This way, our IVF specialist at euroCARE IVF Cyprus makes sure that you get the best embryos that will increase your implantation and pregnancy success.

PGD Cyprus Procedure

Once an embryo reaches a 6- or 8-cell stage (cleavage stage), which is usually on the third day after fertilization, or a blastocyst stage, which is on day 5 of embryo development, a small laser incision in performed to cut open the zona pellucida.

Cells in the early-stage embryos have identical genetic signatures. One or multiple cells from the embryo are extracted and examined. The DNA of the cells is then screened in our state-of-the-art lab to detect presence of genetic defects. PGD does not harm the embryos at early stage of development neither impedes their growth.

The PGD procedure may take a few weeks. Once the test results are available, the healthiest embryos will be transferred to the mother’s uterus.

Genetic Diagnosis

The following genetic disorders are detectable through a genetic diagnosis:

• Achondroplasia
• Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Alpha thalassaemia
• Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
• Alport syndrome
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Beta thalassemia
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth
• Congenital disorder of glycosylation type 1a
• Crouzon syndrome
• Cystic fibrosis
• Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy
• Dystonia 1, Torsion
• Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy
• Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
• Familial adenomatous polyposis
• Familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy
• Familial dysautonomia
• Fanconi anaemia
• Fragile X
• Glutaric aciduria type 1
• Haemophilia A and B
• Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
• Holt-Oram syndrome
• Huntington’s disease
• Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia
• Hypokalaemic periodic paralysis
• Incontinentia pigmenti
• Lynch syndrome
• Marfan syndrome
• Menkes disease
• Metachromatic leukodystrophy
• Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter syndrome)
• Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN2)
• Multiple exostosis
• Myotonic dystrophy
• Neurofibromatosis type I and II
• Non-syndromic Sensorineural Deafness
• Norrie syndrome
• Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease)
• Polycystic kidney, autosomal dominant
• Polycystic kidney, autosomal recessive
• Pompe’s syndrome
• Sickle cell anaemia
• Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome
• Spastic paraplegia 4
• Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy
• Spinal muscular atrophy
• Spinocerebellar ataxia 1, 2 and 3
• Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia (Schmidt)
• Tay-Sachs disease
• Treacher Collins
• Tuberous sclerosis
• Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome

When is PGD Testing Done?

PGD testing is performed during IVF Cyprus when the baby is at risk of receiving a known genetic abnormality from one or both parents. PGD testing is generally recommended for the following categories of patients:

• Couples with a family history of X-linked disorders
• Couples with chromosome translocations
• Carriers of autosomal recessive diseases
• Carriers of autosomal dominant diseases

PGD Benefits

• PGD helps couples with a risk of transmitting a genetic disease to the offspring.
• PGD can detect more than 400 genetic disorders.
• PGD identifies affected and unaffected embryos with >98% of accuracy.
• PGD evaluates embryos before transfer, thus allowing intended parents to make an informed decision about their IVF cycle.
• Only healthy embryos are selected for implantation.
• PGD enables couples to have a healthy baby.

PGD Disadvantages

• Certain diseases generate symptoms when the child reaches middle age and these are not detectable with PGD.
• Many couples find the decision to screen their embryos difficult due to ethical and emotional reasons.
• Many people believe that destroying unhealthy embryos means destroying a human being.
• PGD is an invasive procedure that requires technical expertise and cutting-edge technology in order to avoid damaging the developing embryos.

Why Choose PGD in North Cyprus?

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a cutting-edge, exceedingly precise fertility treatment used for genetic diagnosis — detecting gender abnormalities in embryos.

Genetic testing and assisted reproduction have converged with the introduction of PGD technology that allows parents to choose which embryos to implant in the based on genetic test results.

Expert geneticists at euroCARE IVF Center in North Cyprus are world-renowned for their expertise in testing for some of the most complicated disorders today.

PGD in Cyprus can punctiliously monitor over 50 genetic diseases, including Cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, and Hemophilia A and B.

euroCARE IVF also implements Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), which allows you to choose the gender of your baby and to screen for numerical chromosomal abnormalities.

Good Candidates for PGD Treatment

PGD may be optional for:

• Couples who have had a previous birth of a child with a single-gene defect, such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and Huntington disease.
• Couples who have a family history of diseases, which are passed to the child through the mother. Recessive disorders include hemophilia and most neuromuscular dystrophies. Dominant disorders include Rhett syndrome and vitamin D – resistant rickets.
• Couples in which both partners are carriers of a certain genetic disease or who are at risk for passing on inherited genetic disease to their offspring.
• Women of advanced reproductive age and couples who have had recurrent pregnancy loss due to chromosomal aneuploidy.

Stages of PGD Procedure

PGD at euroCARE IVF in North Cyprus is a multidimensional process involving egg extraction, in vitro fertilization, cell biopsy, genetic analysis, and embryo transfer.

1 | Egg Retrieval

Eggs are removed from the mother after she has been given drugs to stimulate egg production and are fertilized in the laboratory.

2 | DNA Retrieval

DNA is extracted from the cell. This material in the cell is what’s passed on from the parents to the child.

3 | Analyze Genetic Code

Each cell in an eight cell stage embryo contains that embryo’s entire genetic code. By using the biopsied cell for PGD testing, our expert specialists analyze the genetic code to determine if a disorder exists in that specific embryo.

4 | Embryo Transfer

When an embryo that is found to be healthy and free of genetic disorders, the IVF cycle may continue and the embryo transfer will take place.

If a genetic disorder is identified, our euroCARE IVF doctors use the necessary information to select only the embryos with the lowest risk for carrying this disease.

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preimplantation_genetic_diagnosis

http://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/preimplantation-genetic-diagnosis/