PGTA- Testing

[Haffy12]

hi would you recommend PGTA testing i have had two failed transfers. And my clinic recommended PGTA testing and a biopsy from my uterus

[Swimming87]

I would recommend. It's a very safe procedure for the embryo and you avoid transferring embryo with genetic abnormalities which are one of the main causes of miscarriage. I tested all my embryos and are now transferring only the good ones. My journey is still ongoing but I'm hopeful it will end well. I wish you all the best

[MajorT]

I opted for PGT testing after three failed transfers, as the transfers are a lot to put your body through if ultimately the embryos are abnormal and won’t result in a live birth. We are glad we did, as it gives us more information to work with in terms of what we do next.

[Bimsie1310]

I did PGTA after 4 failed transfers as I wanted to know if genetic abnormalities were the problem. I tested 6 embryos and 4 came back normal which didn't solve my past but gave me more reassurance for the future!

[Bluecheeseplz]

I would personally recommend. I'm not sure your age, but at 39, two thirds of my twelve embryos were aneuploid, so that's eight pretty definite losses that I was able to avoid. I'm so sorry for your losses, they are so incredibly hard to go through ❤️‍🩹

[Vix12345]

Yes I absolutely recommend it. After 5 transfers of 7 embryos and still no baby (2 negatives, 2 chemicals and 1 miscarriage at 9 weeks) we had run out of embryos from our first cycle. Our clinic recommended doing PGTA testing following the next collection.

We were uncertain but I trust my clinic and I did a lot of research ourselves.

Firstly, the risk of disposing of a good embryo or the embryo correcting itself is extremely slim. Remember that most of the stuff you read online is American testing, which is far less regulated than uk testing and there are hundreds of clinics doing it, without much in the way of monitoring or standards. In UK there are only about 5 clinics that offer the testing as the standards and regulations are so strict. Also I was told that it's a 98% accuracy rate in the UK. We decided to go ahead as we have had male factors issues and have been trying for years.

I was 39 at testing and egg collection. 12 eggs were collected, 10 mature, 9 fertilised and we got 4 embryos - 1 day 5 and 3 days 6. None were damaged with testing and all were successfully frozen. Our PGTA results showed that from the 4 sent for testing, 2 were normal. After all the time, money and emotion invested in this process over the years, I am very happy with that result.

Basically, you have to do what you feel is best for you, but ask a lot of questions, and do your own research, and look at UK specific information not American as the standards are completely different. But after the seven years trying, two failed vasectomy reversals (the reason for IVF), chemicals, a devastating miscarriage, and thousands of pounds spent, I highly recommend it. It means that you are not wasting time, money and heartache on embryos that could never be successful.

Best of luck x

[Beclp]

I personally don’t agree with it

Slim chances or not I would hate to think I disposed of an embryo I worked so hard for that may have resulted in a healthy baby

I don’t believe it’s a exact science and it is starting to be shown that aneuploid embryos can self correct and can create healthy babies.

If it was an exact science all euploid embryos would become successful pregnancies and that’s just not the case

I see many women on here that have had no luck after transferring normal tested embryos.

[GranolaHippo in reply to Beclp]

Just to clarify, aneuploid embryos do not create healthy pregnancies. What can are mosaic embryos, where some cells are chromosomally balanced and some are not.

Different clinics have different practices, but mine would transfer embryos with low levels of mosaicism (25% of cells sampled or less), and then discuss further or retest 50%. 75% they wouldn't because data shows those do not correct.

As a small number of cells are taken (10 or less), it is possible that only aneuploid cells are collected and actually the embryo was mosaic (ditto the other way around but less likely). So, you can get false results, but these are rare in UK.

I think, from our experience, it's just important to ensure your beliefs and views align with the practice at your clinic (there are 3 survivable trisomies, of which Down syndrome is one, the other 2 (Edwards and Pataus have much greater impact and whilst techincally survivable often result in being severely life-limiting). Check that they wouldn't discard anything you'd want to use.xx

[Beclp in reply to GranolaHippo]

Hey thanks for your response

I think if you have a look you will see new research is showing that aneuploid embryos can create healthy babies

With PGTA testing they take a few cells from the embryo and test them

These cells can them be pushed out by the embryo into the placenta as it’s developing.

As I said I don’t believe it’s an exact science and I personally would t want to discard and embryo based on this information

Everyone is different though

[GranolaHippo in reply to Beclp]

No worries.

I think we're actually talking about the same thing -these would be mosaic embryos, as I mention above, but the sample gives a false result, which is reported as 'aneuploid' (whether you'd call it a false positive or negative, I'm not sure...).

So you can get a false aneuploid result, and that embryo could recover because it has some healthy cells and is actually mosaic, the test results is just wrong. But that's not the same as saying an aneuploid embryo can create an ongoing pregnancy.

If it has normal cells, it's mosaic, not aneuploid. And the chances of false results should be clearly explained (certainly were by my clinic and sat at less than 5%, by their own data).

A truly aneuploid embryo is not compatible with life, in most cases, or presents with life limiting or severe disabilities, the exception being Down Syndrome.

This is why I also think it's important to check your values align with clinic's practices. If you personally would not TFMR for particular conditions, you might want to ask how that would be handled so those embryos would not be discarded. Our clinic were happy to have those discussions with us.

The studies you mention also looked at US labs, which are not used by UK clinics. All sorts of mistakes happen in US clinics/labs that do not happen in UK, due to tighter regulation/different approach to moneymaking through health care.

Please don't assume someone's research is out of date -I went through the process a year ago, just as those US cases were breaking. I have a background in research, so read the journal articles, as well as the media reports. Please also don't assume that a different choice is based on an incorrect or incomplete grasp of the available information, it is hurtful and we all have enough of that elsewhere, which is why we come here.

Getting false results and making decisions on that is always possible, but that's not the same as something truly aneuploid being viable -you have to have some healthy cells in there to enable aneuploid cells to be pushee out, as embryo growth is by cell division, not the spontaneous creation of new cells.

No science or testing is perfect, not even the testing in established pregnancies, and it's perfectly OK to avoid things you're not comfortable with. But, with PGTA in the UK, the error rate is very low. I'm not sure I'd rush to use it after 2 implementation failures, there are maybe other investigations I'd want first (depending on my age). However, for me, after 11 miscarriages (and 1 ectopic) across my mid to late thirties, it was the right choice, as that was the reason ivf was the treatment plan from a recurrent miscarriage specialist.

[Beclp in reply to GranolaHippo]

I am talking about aneuploid embryos

New research is showing they can self correct

[GranolaHippo in reply to Beclp]

Do you have links to the journal articles?

[Beclp in reply to GranolaHippo]

Have a google

You will find some info

[GranolaHippo in reply to Beclp]

Thanks, I did this a lot throughout the last year, with access to journal databases through work.

I also read the media articles I believe you are referring to.

The cases I have seen are embryos labelled as 'aneuploid' that have pushed cells out into what will form the placenta (as this is where samples are taken from, not what will become the baby) and these were aneuploid, whereas cells from elsewhere (what will become placenta or the baby) were normal. This is a mosaic embryo.

Because of how cell division (which is the basis of embryo growth) works, you cannot spontaneously get enough euploid cells in an aneuploid embryo for it to become healthy. There have to be some healthy cells there, dividing, to start with.

If there's evidence to the contrary that you're happy to share, I'm happy to read it and say that I am wrong.

[Beclp in reply to GranolaHippo]

I just offered my opinion here as asked

I’m not up for a debate I’m sorry

I personally don’t feel that it’s an exact science where life and creation are concerned.

[GranolaHippo in reply to Beclp]

And that's a fine opinion to have, no one is forcing you to have PGTA (although I know clinics do push it, and I'm sorry if that was your experience). It's fine to hold that onion strongly.

But there's a difference between offering a personal opinion and stating something as medical fact, especially when that could cause a lot of upset to those who have made different choices to yourself.

I have no interest in debating the merits of PGTA but I do think all of us have a responsibility to ensure what we're saying is accurate. So, I will continue to do that, so people can make their own informed choices.

[LSandJ]

Hi, I think it depends on your situation. Especially how old you are and previous fail history?

I had a couple of fails so then did PGTA. I had 5/6 normal embryos but these all failed too. I did another egg collevtextion and didn't test these ones. Put two in. Miscarried. Another two (still untested) and got twins.(now 1 year old).

So for me the PGTa wasn't worth it (although did tell me my embryos were likely ok). I was 34 at first collection and 37 at second.