The latest advances in scientific technology have brought us Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), a DNA sequencing technique capable of analysing large quantities of genetic information faster than ever before.
Team Miracle at Cyprus IVF Centre is proud to bring you the latest in NGS technology for use with your IVF treatment.
NGS allows high-throughput analysis of the information within a DNA molecule and determines the precise order of the nucleotides present. In other words, it can identify to order of the four DNA bases; adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine which make up strands of DNA. NGS can tell if these bases are displayed correctly and therefore if the embryo is genetically healthy.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis/Screening (PGD/PGS) only tests a small number of chromosomes, usually 5, which is often not sufficient as genetic abnormalities can occur in any of the 23 chromosomes. In contrast, NGS screens all 23 pairs of chromosomes so is a much more robust and reliable technique.
NGS is generally performed on Day 3 of embryo development, when small amount of the cellular material is taken from the embryo for analysis. The results of NGS will tell us if the embryo has an abnormal number of chromosomes, also known as aneuploidy. For example, it will tell us if the embryo has an extra chromosome (trisomy) or is missing a chromosome (monosomy). As well as structural abnormalities, it will also identify if the embryo contains cells with different genetic results (mosaicism) which is unique to NGS testing.
Research has shown that transferring embryos that have been NGS screened and are shown to be genetically healthy (euploid), gives the patient the highest chance of implantation and also the best chance of a successful, healthy pregnancy.
Team Miracle strongly recommends NGS for those patients who have previously experienced unexplained spontaneous miscarriages, implantation failure or are over the age of 35.