The end goal of Reproductive Medicine is for a healthy baby to be born. Genetic testing helps couples undergoing assisted reproduction in a number of ways. Of the tests performed, those related to the chromosome analysis of the embryos are of the utmost importance, because chromosomal aberrations show up frequently in human embryos, and are responsible for 98% of the embryos with these alterations not implanting, resulting in a miscarriage and, in short, not achieving the objective of giving birth to a healthy baby capacity.
Secure Select is the most innovative non-invasive chromosome screening technique. A non-invasive preimplantation genetic test that prioritises the transfer of embryos with a greater implantation potential according to their chromosomal endowment, without having to carry out an embryo biopsy. This is possible be- cause next generation sequencing or NGS technologies can detect the DNA that the embryo has shed into the culture medium where it is developing and, in turn, estimate whether the embryo has the correct number of chromosomes.
Genetic testing of embryos pro- vides information on the chromo- somal status of the embryo with a concordance of between 78% to 83% with respect to the embryo biopsy, permitting the selection of embryos that are more likely to be chromosomally normal and, in turn, have a higher implantation rate.
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The first step in this process is to perform In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). If the process is successful, the fertilised egg will transform into an embryo that will be cultured until day three/four of development. It is subsequently washed and transferred to a new culture medium, where it will develop until day five/six (ex- panded blastocyst stage).
At this stage, the embryo is pre- served using vitrification (freezing) and the culture medium is collected for genetic analysis by mass spectrometry or next generation sequencing (NGS). Once the results have been obtained, priority will be given to transferring the embryos that are most likely to implant.
Secure Select is a breakthrough in embryo selection that analyses DNA present in the culture medium, as the embryo is not manipulated. Thanks to this advanced embryo selection, couples can increase their chances of a successful IVF cycle compared to conventional embryo selection.
Advantages of Secure Select
- No embryonic manipulation.
- Reduced clinical costs, as no embryo biopsy is performed.
- The embryos with the highest implantation potential can be determined according to their chromosomal endowment in a non-invasive way.
- Helps couples conceive in less time.
- It is the best and safest non-invasive embryo prioritisation method.
- It can detect embryos at high risk of chromosomal disorders.
MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS
Genetic testing is for patients looking for non-invasive chromosomal information, with a view to determining which embryos to transfer first on the basis of chromosomal endowment and which, in turn, have the highest implantation potential.
Secure Select is particularly useful for couples who have obtained a large number of embryos in the in vitro fertilisation process.
