Does performing an embryo biopsy for PGD damage an embryo?
No. We have now studied thousands of embryos. Compared to IVF without PGD, embryos that have a polar body biopsy or embryo biopsy develop in a similar way. For example, when we compare the percentage of eggs that achieve normal fertilization, the PGD embryos which had a polar body biopsy had a normal fertilization rate of 78%. The eggs that did not have a PGD biopsy had a normal fertilization rate of 76%. Cleavage rate is a measure of the percentage of fertilized eggs that go on to start dividing. PGD embryos have a cleavage rate of 96%, compared to embryos without PGD which divide 95% of the time. A very important quality measure is how often a fertilized egg will become a blastocyst. PGD embryos will develop into blastocysts about 40% of the time. Non-PGD embryos become blastocysts slightly more often at 47%, a difference that is not statistically different. Rarely, an embryo can be damaged by the biopsy procedure itself. If this occurs, it can be identified right away by viewing it
