Main idea:
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, otherwise known as PGD, is a process used to diagnose genetic diseases and help prevent a disease from being passed onto offspring. This process works with in vitro fertilization (IVF) which takes a father's sperm and mother's egg to eventually form an embryo. The cells of the embryo will be tested to determine any possible heritable diseases using PGD, and a chosen "healthy" embryo will be implanted back into the mother's uterus to mature into a child.
steps of pgd process
Here are the basic steps of how PGD is performed.
1. Creation of Zygotes
Fertility drugs are taken by the mother, producing multiple eggs. Once the eggs have matured, eggs from the mother and sperm from the father are extracted. In a petri dish, a sperm and egg are combined. ICSI, or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection, is commonly used with PGD - it is when the sperm is directly injected into the egg. This results in a zygote.
Fertility drugs are taken by the mother, producing multiple eggs. Once the eggs have matured, eggs from the mother and sperm from the father are extracted. In a petri dish, a sperm and egg are combined. ICSI, or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection, is commonly used with PGD - it is when the sperm is directly injected into the egg. This results in a zygote.
2. Testing of Embryos
Once a zygote contains about eight cells, it is considered an embryo. One or two cells are extracted at this point from the embryo and tested for a specific disease.
Once a zygote contains about eight cells, it is considered an embryo. One or two cells are extracted at this point from the embryo and tested for a specific disease.
3. Embryo Transfer
After embryos with and without a disease have been identified, embryos with the disease will be destroyed. One "healthy" embryo will be transferred back to the mother to possibly mature into a child. Other "healthy" embryos will be frozen, donated, or allowed to pass on.
After embryos with and without a disease have been identified, embryos with the disease will be destroyed. One "healthy" embryo will be transferred back to the mother to possibly mature into a child. Other "healthy" embryos will be frozen, donated, or allowed to pass on.