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Karyotyping
We check the chromosome set of both partners to exclude the possibility of underlying chromosomal rearrangement problem.
Sometimes a part of one chromosome gets detached and attached to another chromosome. This does not cause any physical (phenotype) abnormality in the parent as the total set of the chromosomes (DNA) is complete. The mother cells that produce the eggs and the sperm divide equally into two halves to produce the gametes (eggs and sperm) with half the number of the chromosomes. When the sperm fertilizes the egg to form the embryo the diploid number of the chromosomes will be attained. If the mother cell has a chromosomal rearrangement problem the DNA material will split unequally. The egg or the sperm will either miss or carry an extra part of a chromosome and the resulting embryo will not be chromosomally normal. This embryo either fails to implant or end in a miscarriage.
If this chromosomal rearrangement problem is diagnosed beforehand, we can test for it in the embryos and choose only normal embryos for transfer (Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for chromosomal rearrangement).