risks associated with PGTA test

[Diana1981]

hello, what do you think about the risks associated with the damage to the embryos when conducting pgta test? My doctor says it’s minimum, but she also said that it’s up to me to decide if I want this test as sometimes the damage may happen because the blastocyst is so tiny.

[GranolaHippo]

Hello,

Just to say we had PGT-A in April and had blast popped back in last Thurs. They reported it kept 100% of cells remaining after being biopsied, frozen and thawed.

But, I think it very, very much depends on the skill of the individual clinic and embryologists performing it.

If possible, ask to speak to embryologist who will perform and/or genetic counsellor, to get the clinic's specific success rates.

[Diana1981 in reply to GranolaHippo]

thank you. The doctor mentioned that their embryologists are very experienced, but they still asked me to sign the papers that there is a risk.

[GranolaHippo in reply to Diana1981]

I think our risk was something like 3-5%. That felt acceptable to us.

If you're concerned, ask for the actual data, also ask what their policies are on mosaic results and survivable chromosomal abnormalities (if you look at some of my other replies, I discuss this more).

Also worth considering whether you'd feel worse not being able to use a mosaic embryo that might be viable vs potentially having a miscarriage. Obviously, neither outcome is a forgone conclusion, but those are the opposite 'worse' ends of the spectrum of outcomes.

HFEA website rates add-ons like this, and that would give you more info on whether it is of benefit to you, based on your own circumstances.

All clinics will tell you their staff are great, but ask for actual data, not a reassurance, that's what you are paying for.

[Christianbaby]

PGT-A testing can provide valuable information about the health of your embryos, but it's also true that the procedure involves taking a few cells from a tiny blastocyst. Most embryos handle this just fine, but as your doctor mentioned, there's always a small chance of damage. If you’re feeling unsure, it might help to speak with an embryologist who can explain the process in more detail and answer any specific concerns you have. They can provide more insight into how they handle the embryos and the actual risks involved. Wishing you the best of luck. xx

[Diana1981 in reply to Christianbaby]

Thanks a lot. Im going to ask for a meeting with the embryologist!

[Batsford]

Hi Diana, I agree with the comments that others have made. We PGTA tested our last 5 donor embryos as I’d had 2 early miscarriages from them and none were damaged as part of the process. Personally I wish we’d done this a lot sooner and been able to rule out problems with the embryos as a cause of the early miscarriages a lot sooner. Best of luck.

[Diana1981 in reply to Batsford]

thank you vm🙏🙏🙏

[Batsford in reply to Diana1981]

No worries. I should add that 4 out of 5 came back as genetically normal, as the donor was only 21. However, given we planned for it to be our last transfer and we were throwing a lot of immune suppressant medication at it, we wanted to ensure we were transferring a normal embryo and so it felt the right thing to do. I’m 32 weeks pregnant now 🤞

[Diana1981 in reply to Batsford]

Fabulous! Good luck with the birth and enjoy it further! ❤️

[Wishinandahopin]

hello! PGT-A used to pose a risk when it was done at day 3 on an 8 cell embryo. But nowadays it’s done on a blastocyst which has thousands of cells and it only takes a few from the outside so the risk is teeny. We did them on all 8 embryos from two rounds and none were damaged.

just make sure your clinic will transfer mosaic embryos- most will now as they are considered almost as good as ‘normal’ ones. But they used to disgard them. My perfectly healthy 6 month old was a mosaic embryo.

PGT-A testing is a really useful thing to do to save time and identify issues early on. For example we had two tested ‘normal’ embryos fail to implant so we knew there was likely something else going on with me and there was after testing. Had we not tested the embryos we would have just assumed they had been ‘abnormal’.

Wishing you lots of luck! X

[Diana1981 in reply to Wishinandahopin]

Thank you vm ❤️❤️❤️

[Crie1983]

Hello, the risk is so small and I think the benefits far outweigh the risks. I’m so glad we opted for PGTA testing, out of 15 embryos, 6 came back euploid. Sadly the first two euploid transfers failed but I’m now 22 weeks pregnant with the 3rd euploid transfer. I absolutely understand this is a personal choice and any risk is a worry. Good luck wherever you decide. Xx

[Diana1981 in reply to Crie1983]

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[ch2024]

Hi, I agree with the others, personally think the benefit outweighs the risk. We’ve just had 8 embryos tested and only 1 has come back as euploid and 1 mosaic. It was worth doing it as this was a totally unexpected result considering I’m only 31 and doing IVF due to same-sex relationship. This test has saved us potentially having 6 failed transfers with embryos that were never going to work xx

[Diana1981 in reply to ch2024]

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[Citizenerased83]

Hi lovely, I had pgt-a done on both frozen and fresh embryos and both times all embryos were fine. Currently 14 weeks pregnant- the furthest I've ever gotten as had 2 miscarriages before. I was very reluctant at first to have pgta testing done because I was so worried about risks to the embryo but I'm so glad we went ahead. I had full confidence in my clinic and embryology team so maybe speak to the embryologist as a skilled one makes all the difference. X

[Diana1981 in reply to Citizenerased83]

Thank a a lot! 🙏🙏🙏

[Citizenerased83 in reply to Diana1981]

It's worth adding that pgt-a is a screening test though and not a diagnostic one.

[leo1980]

hi. Also a vote from me to PGTA test. I had epic failures on both PGTA and non PGTA tested embryos but only really it’s worth when it came to the 12 week scan and we were tested for downs etc. the testing process identifies your best chromosomal normal embryos so you don’t waste time putting embryos back that will not survive. Once you have your embryos tested ask the embryologist for the report from the lab. It shows you each embryo what they have been tested for and will note abnormalities. It will also have your ‘normal ‘ ones and will show what it was tested for, i am 43 years old but the embryo I am 28 weeks pregnant with is from when I was 40 - it was genetically tested before being frozen. Hope this helps!

[Diana1981 in reply to leo1980]

Thank a lot!❤️🙏

[Lornell23]

I personally would definitely have it done. I've recently lost a baby at 10 weeks 5 days old as I didn't know I had passed him a genetic problem. I wouldnt want to go through it again so my last 3 eggs need to be tested.

[Diana1981 in reply to Lornell23]

thank you very much for sharing your thoughts! ❤️

[Katsi]

I would say it depends on the number of embryos you have. If it’s only 2, would you regret more of you get a negative test and guessing if it is was PGT-A, or if you lose a round on untested embryo? If you have 10, would you want to go fast or give even embryo a chance?

[Diana1981 in reply to Katsi]

thank you Katsi! ❤️

[Cb1993]

I wouldn’t do the testing. It’s not reliable either and normal healthy embryos can be discarded.