PGD is a treatment which involves checking the genes or chromosomes of your Embryos for a specific Genetic condition. Because the embryos need to be tested in a lab you will need to have IVF, even if you and your partner have no fertility problems. Embryos which have been tested and are free of the condition will be placed back into your womb to hopefully continue to develop.

Who can have PGD?

• If you have ended previous pregnancies because of a serious genetic condition
• If you already have a child with a serious genetic condition and want to avoid this happening again
• If you have a family history of a serious genetic condition, or
• If you have a family history of chromosome problems.

How safe is PGD?

The PGD treatment itself is thought to be very safe – there is no evidence that babies born following PGD suffer from any more health or developmental problems than babies born using IVF alone.

What’s the chance of having a baby with PGD?

As with most fertility treatments, success depends on many factors, including the woman’s age and whether there are any existing fertility problems. We only have a small amount of data on births from PGD because it’s a fairly rare treatment.

Why might PGD be unsuccessful?

Unfortunately sometimes there are no embryos suitable for transfer to the womb. This could be because:

• not enough eggs are produced or fertilised in the first place
• removing the cells for analysis damages the embryos
• all the embryos are affected by the genetic disease