ESHRE launches international study of polar body...(day old embryos published in 2007. The r...)

Oocytes to be used in the pilot phase will be obtained from volunteer patients who have given consent for their use in this study. There will be no age restrictions on those donating their eggs.

By biopsying polar bodies at an early stage of egg development, the researchers believe that not only are they using a less invasive method of chromosome analysis, but also a more accurate one. "A biopsied blastomere, or very early embryo, is not a true representation of the other cells in that same embryo," said Professor Geraedts. "This mosaicism confuses the analyses and we don't know what it means for that embryo in the later stages of its development."

24sure, the novel molecular technique to be used in both phases of the trial was developed by BlueGnome and is based on DNA amplification and microarray technology, which enables scientists to look at all the chromosomes at the same time. This is, in theory, far more powerful than the method of fluorescent in situ hybridisation or FISH, which has been used thus far.

"It is because we think this subject is so important," said Professor Geraedts, "that we have decided to launch our first-ever clinical study. We hope that we will be able to answer the outstanding questions about PGS once and for all. If we can show that polar body screening works, it will be a major step forward in improving IVF treatment for many women who have persistent difficulty in getting pregnant and maintaining a pregnancy."

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