Preimplantation diagnosis.
Although healthy babies have been born after preimplantation diagnosis for sex determination, this technique is still in an experimental phase. To date, removal by micromanipulation of one or two blastomeres from an eight-cell embryo seems an acceptable procedure. Since a reasonable number of biopsied embryos will implant and develop in utero, the methodology for the analysis of the blastomeres at the chromosomal, gene product or DNA level, needs to be improved before further clinical application. In the meanwhile, more information about early embryo development will become available.
Liebaers
I
I
Centre for Medical Genetics, Centre for Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital, Dutch-speaking Brussels Free University (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB), Belgium.
Sermon
K
K
Lissens
W
W
Liu
J
J
Devroey
P
P
Tarlatzis
B
B
Van Steirteghem
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*