New IVF Treatment Doubles Chances Of Success

February 10, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: News, Pregnancy

Scientists have reported that women who undergoing fertility treatment with a new technique to pick up abnormal chromosomes in their eggs have twice the chance of having a baby.

One leading fertility specialist explained how it was a fast and precise method of detecting possible birth defects and miscarriages.

The new procedure, developed in the UK, has already seen a 41-year-old woman give birth to her first child after a number of miscarriages and 13 unsuccessful IVF attempts.

Simon Fishel, managing director of Care Fertility IVF centre, Sheffield, said
“We are likely to reduce the number of miscarriages, increase the number of implantations into the womb and increase the number of live births with this technology,” he added “We now have a technology that can examine all chromosomes from either an egg or an embryo.”

On average, 50 per cent of eggs women carry will contain chromosome abnormalities that may reduce the chances of having a healthy child. This rises to 75 per cent once they are over 40-years-old.

The new chromosome test is able to identify which eggs are normal and will give the best chance of a successful pregnancy.

Currently the treatment is not offered by the NHS and costs £1,950. The test takes less than 48 hours to complete, eliminating the need to freeze eggs before implantation.

Further research and clinical trails are necessary before the test will be offered to more couples wanting to undergo IVF treatment.