PGD does not increase birth defects

According to the results of a study released at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics, the number of malformations in babies born from embryos subjected to preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is no higher than IVF without PGD. Professor Ingeborg Liebaers, from the Research Centre for Reproductive Genetics, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, says that the results of her study of 583 children born after PGD was reassuring.

There has been some concern that the additional handling of the embryo during PGD when a cell is extracted for testing might lead to an increase in complications. The conclusions of this study, the first large study done at one fertility center, indicate that is not the case. There are plans for further studies at other centers.