How is PGD Performed?
PGD begins with embryo biopsy Patients electing to have PGD will undergo an IVF cycle where the woman is given fertility medication to increase the number of eggs that will mature and be retrieved during the egg retrieval. Her male partner will provide a sperm sample, and the eggs and sperm will either be incubated together to achieve fertilization or each egg will be injected with a single sperm in a procedure called Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Normally, one-half or more of the eggs will become fertilized and develop into embryos. The embryos must grow in the laboratory for three days before the PGD process can be initiated. By this time, the embryos should have between 6 and 8 cells, called blastomeres, and a micromanipulation procedure called embryo biopsy is done. During embryo biopsy, a small opening is made in the protective coating or shell surrounding the embryo, called the zona pellucida. A tiny glass tube or “pipette” is used to enter the shell and gently remove
