| World's first pregnancy using IVF egg-screening | | | | The process uses a laser to make a small incision in |
| technique | | | | the outer membrane of the egg, from which doctors |
| A British woman has become the first in the world to | | | | can extract the polar body containing the 23 |
| conceive using a new IVF technique that could more | | | | chromosomes that were expelled before fertilisation. |
| than double the success rate of pregnancies. The | | | | The doctors then use a computer-driven screening |
| 41-year-old woman was treated after suffering two | | | | process to check if all of the chromosomes are |
| miscarriages and having 13 courses of IVF, none of | | | | present. |
| which led to a baby. | | | | "This screening method has the potential to improve |
| The technique allows doctors to screen fresh eggs | | | | birth rates, minimise the incidence of miscarriage and |
| for abnormal chromosomes, which are a major cause | | | | birth defects caused by chromosomal irregularity," |
| of miscarriage. Many embryos that have damaged or | | | | Fishel said. |
| missing chromosomes miscarry, but others go on to | | | | Fishel's clinic has agreement from the government's |
| produce conditions such as Down's syndrome. | | | | fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and |
| The woman, who was treated by doctors at the | | | | Embryology Authority, to offer the technology to |
| Care Fertility Group in Nottingham, is expected to | | | | any of their patients. Because the procedure is |
| give birth in the next two months. Fertility clinics have | | | | experimental, however, it will not yet be offered on |
| long sought a way to check eggs or embryos for | | | | the NHS. |
| major chromosome abnormalities. A healthy egg | | | | The HFEA has ordered UK fertility clinics to take |
| carries 46 chromosomes – 23 pairs – but | | | | steps to reduce the number of twins and triplets |
| before it can be fertilised it needs to ditch 23 of | | | | born to IVF couples. In most cases, this will involve |
| these, which it packages into a structure called a | | | | transferring only one embryo to the womb at a time. |
| polar body. The new technique checks the | | | | Doctors believe the new technique will allow them to |
| chromosomes in the polar body. | | | | select the most promising embryos, increasing the |
| Doctors at the clinic collected nine eggs from the | | | | chances of a succesful pregnancy. |
| woman after stimulating her ovaries with standard | | | | A previous trial conducted last year by the Care |
| hormone-based drugs. Using the new screening | | | | Fertility Group and an American team suggests the |
| technique, they found that only two had intact | | | | technology could double the number of embryos that |
| chromosomes and so were likely to implant and lead | | | | implant in the womb, from 25% to 50%. |
| to a successful pregnancy. Both embryos were | | | | Fertility doctors at other clinics cautiously welcomed |
| implanted into the woman and one went on to a | | | | the development today. Stuart Lavery, a senior |
| pregnancy. | | | | consultant gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital in |
| Simon Fishel, director of the Care Fertility Group, said | | | | London, said: "Although it is still at a very early stage, |
| the milestone demonstrated the "wonderful ingenuity | | | | this technique may offer a new diagnostic and |
| of humankind". The screening process costs £1,950 | | | | therapeutic hope to couples who suffer from |
| on top of standard IVF treatment, which can | | | | repeated implantation failure in IVF." |
| £3,500. | | | | "Previous methods of screening embryos to detect |
| "One of the main reasons why IVF doesn't work is | | | | abnormality have not proven to be sufficiently |
| chromosomal abnormality," said Fishel. "Full | | | | effective in increasing live birth rates. We need |
| chromosome analysis offers huge hope to many | | | | further research in this area so questions of reliability, |
| couples who have a poor chance of conceiving, | | | | efficacy and safety can be fully answered." |
| those who have had many failures, and for those | | | | Tony Rutherford, chair of the British Fertility Society, |
| who want to maximise their chance at each attempt. | | | | said: "It is absolutely essential that these new |
| We now have the best tool for achieving this." | | | | techniques are subject to further rigorous research, |
| Up to half the eggs of younger women, and up to | | | | and should only be offered to patients within the |
| 75% in women over 39, have abnormal | | | | context of a robustly designed clinical trial, carried out |
| chromosomes. | | | | in suitably experienced centres." |
| The technique, called polar body array comparative | | | | Around 6,000 babies a year are born in the UK to |
| genomic hybridisation, is the first that can check all of | | | | otherwise infertile couples as a result of IVF. The |
| an egg's chromosomes to see if any are missing or | | | | technique was developed in the 1970s and the first |
| duplicated. | | | | test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978. |