New IVF treatment has first success

A new IVF technique to check embryos for genetic disorders before they're implanted has had its first success, after doctors in London reported the first pregnancy in Europe from the procedure.

The technique lets doctors select embryos that are free from dangerous mutations carried by one or both parents, even if the exact nature of the mutation is unknown.

Experts at the Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health (CRGH) said Carmen Meagu, 26, and her husband Gabriel had a high chance of passing on a lethal disease to their child. They are now 17 weeks into the pregnancy.

Normal embryo testing requires weeks of laboratory work , but new technique 'karyomapping' takes just two weeks to complete, allowing couples to be tested without having to break their IVF treatment cycle.

Meagu has a 50 percent chance of passing on a condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a muscular dystrophy disease that killed her father in his 50s but only mildly affects her.

The centre's director Paul Serhal said the technique is likely to replace more traditional ways of testing embryos because it is faster, more powerful and no more expensive. It is to be available on the NHS in the UK.

WENN.com

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New IVF treatment has first success