Japanese study on detecting chromosomal abnormalities in fertilized eggs to be expanded

From Jiji Press via The Japan Times

June 23rd 2019

The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology has announced that it will expand the scale of clinical research on the utilization of PGT-A, or preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies, for fertility treatment.

The type of testing examines fertilized eggs produced through in-vitro fertilization to detect abnormalities in the number of chromosomes before placement in the uterus.

After an overseas study found that utilizing PGT-A to select eggs without abnormalities is effective in reducing the likelihood of miscarriage, the JSOG, on a trial basis, started clinical research at four medical institutions on 85 women who had repeated miscarriages.

The society will now ease the conditions for participation in the program in order to get more patients and medical institutions involved in the research, it said Saturday.

PGT-A has been criticized by some people as a method to select who should live.

The JSOG bans the testing from being implemented as a general medical treatment. It currently conducts the clinical research as an exception in order to find out whether the method is effective in lowering the chances of miscarriage.

But some experts claim that utilizing the testing will have little significance as far as research goes and should be regarded as a general medical treatment.

Furthermore, there is a report stating that utilizing PGT-A does not help increase the probability of a successful pregnancy as many women fail to secure fertilized eggs without chromosome abnormalities in the first place.