Is PGD necessary when doing IVF with Egg Donation?

PGD (also known as preimplantation genetic testing or PGT) can identify abnormal embryos during IVF. Is it necessary when using egg donation?

Human beings make lots of abnormal, nonviable embryos. The most common type are embryos that do not have the correct number of chromosomes. The older a woman gets, the higher the percentage of embryos will have chromosome abnormalities.

There are three possible outcomes if embryos with chromosome abnormalities are placed into your uterus. Most of the time, the embryos don't implant and you simply don’t get pregnant. Of those that do implant, most will miscarry. Chromosome abnormality is the most common cause of miscarriage. A very small number of abnormal embryos will result in live born babies. These babies will have birth defects such as Edward’s Syndrome which will cause the death of 90% of babies before they are 1 year old.

So, should testing for abnormal embryos be performed on all IVF cycles including Egg Donor cycles? Maybe not. Let’s look at the three problems I listed before.

Will it help you to get pregnant?

As an IVF expert, I am looking to see whether I get more women pregnant using PGT compared to not using PGT.

Younger women make fewer abnormal embryos than older women. Egg donors are usually young so egg donors usually have a lower percentage of abnormal embryos. That means that any embryo that my embryologists choose for transfer, is less likely to be abnormal if it comes from an egg donor. So testing all embryos is less useful in egg donors than it is for older women.

In fact, several studies have failed to find a difference in the chance for pregnancy when comparing IVF cycles in younger women and egg donors with tested embryos compared to the same younger women who had transfer of untested embryos.

In other words, using tested embryos in younger women did not improve the chance for success. Currently, embryo testing is very costly so it may not make sense for younger women and young egg donors.

This does not mean that it is impossible for a few individuals within those groups to benefit from testing. But there won’t be very many that will benefit. Most of the time, couples using an egg donor will have the same chance for success without PGT.

When does it make sense to use PGT in egg donor cycles? If a couple is interested in gender selection, then embryo testing is needed or if the male partner has a known chromosome problem like a translocation, then PGT may be warranted.


Dr Randy Morris MD-The BOARD CERTIFIED fertility expert with weekly TTC tips on InfertilityTV

Infertility TV is your weekly source for the best medical information if you have infertility, recurrent miscarriage or are just trying to conceive. (TTC). InfertilityTV covers infertility testing, fertility treatments such as Clomid, Follistim and Crinone and fertility treatments like IUI and IVF (in vitro fertilization)

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Dr Morris is a practicing IVF and infertility expert who sees patients at IVF! located in the Naperville Fertility Center.

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