Patients with a family history of certain health issues can find peace of mind with PGT-P
“It runs in my family.” Many people say this when talking about certain diagnoses, such as cancer, diabetes and schizophrenia. You may have even uttered this sentence yourself. In the past, parents had to accept that they might pass the genes for these issues to their children. However, IVF with PGT-P at The Fertility Center of Las Vegas is changing that. Our Las Vegas infertility center offers several types of preimplantation genetic testing, including testing for polygenic disorders.
Using this testing, you can move one step closer to being the one who says, “That used to run in my family, but not anymore.”
What is PGT-P, and who can benefit from it?
This type of preimplantation genetic testing ranks IVF embryos for polygenic disorders. A polygenic disorder is caused by multiple genes. Examples of these conditions include cancer, heart disease, schizophrenia and diabetes. Using genetic testing for polygenic disorders, we can determine each embryo’s risk of developing certain polygenic conditions.
The process of performing PGT-P is very similar to preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) or monogenic disorders (PGT-M).
- You will undergo the first few steps of an IVF cycle to create embryos. These steps include ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval and fertilization in the IVF lab.
- When your embryos have enough cells, an embryologist will carefully remove a few cells from each embryo and send them to a genetics lab for testing. Your embryos will remain safely stored in a frozen state while we await test results.
- The genetics lab will test each embryo biopsy and provide a report that explains which embryo have the lowest risk of developing certain polygenic conditions.
- Working with your doctor, you will decide which embryos you would like to have transferred for your IVF cycle.
Polygenic conditions are very common, so anyone can benefit from this type of testing. However, testing for polygenic disorders may be of special interest to you if you are concerned about specific conditions based on your family history. Our Las Vegas infertility center may also recommend PGT-P to those who are already using PGT-A.
How effective is genetic testing for polygenic disorders?
In the world of medicine, there is no such thing as a 100% guarantee. The human body is too complex, and there is too much variation from person to person. However, studies have found that PGT-P can reduce the incidence of certain conditions by as much as 72%. This can provide significant peace of mind if you want to end the cycle of certain conditions “running in your family.”
Our Las Vegas infertility center team can help you learn more about this type of genetic testing, so that you can decide whether it’s right for your family. Contact us to schedule an appointment and get the answers you need.
