We met with the genetic counselor today about CCS (Comprehensive Chromosomal Screening). Our plan is to use CCS with IVF #2 to help us find that one good embryo that will stick, grow and become our child.
We have a bit of time before this all takes place but I want to get it all down now so I don't forget it.
Test results are given as follows:
Normal
Abnormal
No Diagnosis
Normal means that the embryo has all 23 pairs of chromosomes, or Euploid. These are the only embryos that would be transferred.
Abnormal means that the embryo has a missing or extra chromosome somewhere, or Aneuploidy. Monosomy or trisomy of either chromosome pair or sex chromosome (Trisomy 21, Monosomy 13, Monosomy X, XXY, etc).
No Diagnosis means that either the embryo had begun to arrest at the time of biopsy, some kind of error occurred, or the DNA of that embryo had already begun to break down at the time of biopsy.
A 35 year old (me) can be expected to have 40-50% of her embryos test abnormal. Just giving me a heads up on that one.
We need to decide how many embryos we need at retrieval to make the cost of this test worthwhile. If we only get 2 blasts, for example, we would go ahead and transfer those two rather than do CCS. The decision becomes more difficult if, say, we have 3 or 4 blasts. What should our cut off be?
We asked that the sex of the embryo (XX or XY) not be given in the results unless the embryo had an abnormality of the sex chromosomes. My fear was that the embryologist would call and ask, "Do you want a girl or a boy, a girl and a boy, twin girls?" I was reassured that, as a policy, they do not reveal the sex chromosomes of the normal embryos. Normal embryos are just "Normal."
On a side note: Why do some scientists and doctors refer to XX or XY as the gender of the embryo rather than the sex of the embryo? We said sex, she said gender. In my academic discipline, gender is an identity formed over time, one not determined by sex chromosomes. Gender is social and cultural. I cringe anytime I hear "gender of the embryo."
4 comments:
I completely agree with the whole gender thing. Best of luck to you on this next cycle. :)
Interesting. I had not really thought much about the gender vs. sex thing. I might have to look into that a bit more. Thanks for making me aware!
This sounds like a good plan in the making. I hope the CCS will work out. Deciding about the numbers is always a headache in this game. I think your plan on doing the CCS >2 is a good one. FX
What always amazes me is how few are genetically normal under normal circumstances -- not just for women our age but for younger women, too.
It is truly a miracle that anyone ever gets pregnant under any circumstances. The longer I'm in the IF world, the more astounding I find the entire thing. How on EARTH do people EVER accidentally get pregnant?!
I think your plan is a great one and I'm pulling for you SO strongly!
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