Wellbeing of Women

Delhanty

2003, Delhanty, Harper, Faed

Detection of chromosome anomalies in the first polar body by CGH and validation in the oocyte and embryo

Eggs and embryos that have the wrong number of chromosomes are unlikely to result in a baby. If they do so, they produce a baby with a chromosome abnormality (such as Down's syndrome). This research project aims to:

improve our understanding of why some eggs end up with the wrong number of chromosomes
develop an effective test for IVF that does not damage embryos, but identifies abnormal ones
assess whether it is possible to test embryos for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and thalassaemia at the same time as checking for chromosome errors.

In IVF only two embryos can be transferred into the womb, so it is important that those embryos have the greatest possible chance of surviving. If we can identify and transfer only embryos with the right number of chromosomes, this may increase the rate of successful pregnancies and also result in more cost effective cycles of IVF. This research may also help to enable couples at risk of passing on a serious inherited disease to have unaffected children through IVF.