Embryo screening methods for test tube infants
IVF is a method of culturing embryos in the laboratory through in vitro fertilization technology and implanting them into the mother's body, which provides fertility opportunities for couples who are unable to conceive naturally due to physiological or reproductive problems. In order to ensure the health of IVF and reduce the risk of possible genetic diseases, embryo screening is very important.
Embryo gene screening
Embryo gene screening is one of the common methods in IVF embryo screening. By extracting a small number of cells for gene analysis at the early stage of embryo development, genetic problems such as chromosome abnormalities, single gene diseases and polygene diseases can be detected. Embryo gene screening mainly includes the following methods:
1. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): identify possible genetic diseases by detecting specific proteins produced by embryonic cells.
2. Multiplex PCR: Detect mutations in genes related to genetic diseases by amplifying specific gene fragments in embryonic cells.
3. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH): using specific fluorescent probes to mark the sequence related to chromosomes can detect the number and structural abnormalities of embryonic chromosomes.
Through embryo gene screening, embryos with normal chromosome number and structure can be screened, and embryos carrying genetic diseases can be excluded, so as to improve the health and success rate of IVF.
Selective embryo transfer
Selective embryo transfer is a screening method based on the results of embryo gene screening, which aims to select healthy and non genetic disease carrying embryos for implantation. This method is usually carried out when the embryo develops to the blastocyst stage.
In the process of selective embryo transfer, doctors will evaluate the gene screening results of multiple implanted candidate embryos, and select healthy embryos without genetic diseases for implantation. This can reduce the risk of genetic diseases and increase the probability of successful pregnancy of IVF.
Single disease genetic disease screening
In addition to comprehensive embryonic gene screening, it can also screen for genetic diseases of single disease genes. This screening method is applicable to those couples who have known a family history of specific genetic diseases, or who want to know about the risk of carrying specific gene mutations.
By testing a couple's gene samples, it can be determined whether there is a specific gene mutation. If at least one of the couples carries this mutation, their embryos may also inherit the mutation, thus suffering from corresponding genetic diseases. In this way, couples can make more informed decisions before IVF.
summary
The embryo screening methods of IVF mainly include embryonic gene screening, selective embryo transfer and single disease genetic disease screening. Embryo gene screening can improve the health and success rate of IVF by detecting chromosome abnormalities and genetic disease gene mutations in embryos. Selective embryo transfer selects healthy and disease free embryos for implantation according to the results of embryo gene screening. Single disease genetic disease screening is applicable to couples who have a family history of specific genetic diseases or want to know the risk of specific gene mutations. These screening methods help couples reduce the risk of genetic diseases and improve the health quality of IVF.
