Embryo Diagnostics

Embryo diagnosis (PGD) is a procedure performed before assisted reproduction,  also known as artificial insemination. This can be done when a woman is unable to get pregnant by natural means.

In this article, we will explain what embryo diagnostics is. We also tell you what benefits it has for pregnancy and what methods doctors need to follow to ensure its success.

What is embryo diagnostics?

In practice, embryo diagnostics examines eggs and embryos. This is done to avoid implanting an embryo that could lead to an abortion or a baby that is not completely healthy.

This is an advantage of assisted reproduction. When a woman becomes pregnant naturally, she cannot choose between a healthy or unhealthy embryo. However, embryo diagnostics prevents a baby from being born with Down syndrome or Turner syndrome, among other things.

Methods

Before the egg is implanted in a woman’s uterus, the doctor performs an embryo diagnosis. To do this, he must perform in vitro fertilization and put the fertilized eggs in a glass capsule. The doctor then waits 3-5 days to analyze how they develop.

The doctor then takes a biopsy of each embryo to look at any genetic problems. The doctor then selects three healthy embryos and implants them in the woman’s uterus.

Here are some of the most common questions most people consider:

What if a woman doesn’t get pregnant? Does he have to go through this process again?

The answer is no. Although only three embryos are selected for planting, there may be many healthy embryos. In such cases, the doctor may release them to try the procedure again.

Useful method

This method is especially useful for couples who have a family history of serious genetic diseases or if they suffer from one themselves.

While you may think that this can only be done when a woman cannot get pregnant naturally, it is also a useful method in cases where there are potentially inherited diseases in the family.

In this way, medical experts can select a healthy embryo that does not have any life-changing hereditary disease. Of course, this is often the recommended method in such situations.

However, this method is still the subject of debate.

Ethics of embryo diagnostics

There are still some ethical objections to the destruction of embryos.

In some cases, people are concerned about the personal dignity of the human embryo and the maintenance of the natural order of things. Some people believe that embryo diagnosis is against all of this, as it allows the doctor to choose the healthiest embryos that do not have any genetic modification.

This is undoubtedly a very healthy debate to keep in mind.

People who are on the side of this measure hope to raise a healthy child.

Today, such methods exist to prevent babies from being born with diseases that give them only a limited lifespan.

Embryo diagnostics is an option available especially for women who are unable to become pregnant or who are afraid of having children, as the child may inherit the disease. It is good to keep this option in mind.

If you had a degenerative disease in your family, would you take advantage of embryo diagnostics? What do you think of this measure?