Embryo biopsy does not affect early growth and risk of congenital malformations in PGD/...( This release is also available in A ...)

This release is also available in Spanish.

Barcelona, Spain: A study of 70 singleton babies born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis and screening has shown that the procedure does not adversely affect their early growth and risk of congenital malformations.

The lead researcher, Professor Maryse Bonduelle, told the 24th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona today (Tuesday): "These findings are very reassuring for the children, parents and clinicians involved in PDG/PGS treatments. They show that embryo biopsy in PGD and PGS had no adverse impact on singletons' growth or medical outcomes."

PGD/PGS is an invasive procedure that involves removing cells from the embryo before it is transferred to the mother's uterus and testing them for specific genetic disorders (such as cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy). Doctors then select only the unaffected embryos to transfer. Until now, little was known about the effect on the early growth and clinical outcomes of children born after embryo biopsy.

Prof Bonduelle, head of the Centre for Medical Genetics at Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (Brussels, Belgium), and her colleagues compared 70 babies born after PGD/PGS with equal numbers of babies born after ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) or spontaneously conceived (SC).

They found no difference between the three groups with regard to weight, height and head circumference at birth and age two, or in rates of growth. PGD/PGS children were born more frequently after caesarean section than ICSI children, but had no more congenital malformations, hospital admissions or surgical interventions than did the ICSI or SC babies. Although the PGD/PGS children underwent more medical investigations, the number of abnormal results arising from these investigations was not sign
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