Increase Your Chances of a Successful Pregnancy Through IVF
Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine (ACRM), a CCRM network clinic,
is pleased to be the only Atlanta Fertility Clinic to offer the exclusive
Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) technology CCS (comprehensive
chromosomal screening) for patients undergoingin vitro fertilization (IVF). CCS evaluates all 23 pairs of human chromosomes in search of abnormalities
(aneuploidy). Screening embryos in advance can help achieve higher implantation
rates and fewer pregnancy losses, particularly for women 35 years or older,
individuals with multiple failed IVF cycles or implantation failure, and
couples with repeated miscarriages. An estimated 70% of early miscarriage
is associated with a chromosomal abnormality in the fetus.
CCS testing is performed on a few cells biopsied from a 5 or 6 day old
embryo called a
blastocyst. The genetic material of the embryo is not altered in any way during CCS.
During the time it takes to perform CCS, blastocysts are cryopreserved
(frozen) using a quick freezing method called vitrification, which has
a 98% embryo survival rate after thawing.
After CCS testing, only embryos that have a normal number of chromosomes
are selected for transfer.
Who Should Consider CCS?
CCS is not necessarily used by all infertility patients. Those who may
benefit from CCS include the following:
Women 35 years of age or older
Women with a history of repeated miscarriage
Women with a previous pregnancy involving a chromosomally abnormal embryo
Women who have had multiple failed IVF cycles
Men with male factor infertility
Couples who elect for a single embryo transfer (SET)
Over 2,500 healthy babies and countless ongoing healthy pregnancies have
resulted from the use of CCS.
Next–Generation Sequencing
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is the latest technological breakthrough
in pre-implantation genetic testing. NGS allows us to study all 23 pairs
of chromosomes at a more comprehensive level and with deeper resolution.
ACRM ’s CCS lab has extensively tested this platform (VeriSeq™
by Illumina) for accuracy, reproducibility, and reliability.
The CCS lab maintains high quality control and data analysis to enable
accurate CCS diagnosis of IVF embryos. As part of our ongoing commitment
to excellence, they routinely reconfirm diagnosis on aneuploid embryos
to better understand the incidence of chromosome abnormality.
Added Benefits of CCS
Waiting for CCS results and vitrifying the embryos offers some time for
the patient’s body to return to a normal hormonal state after ovarian
stimulation. Studies have shown that transferring embryos into a uterus
that is in a more natural hormonal state enhances the likelihood of implantation
by optimizing the synchronization between embryo and uterine lining and
a healthier more comfortable pregnancy overall.
Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine (ACRM), a CCRM network clinic,
is pleased to be the only Atlanta Fertility Clinic to offer the exclusive
Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) technology CCS (comprehensive
chromosomal screening) for patients undergoingin vitro fertilization (IVF). CCS evaluates all 23 pairs of human chromosomes in search of abnormalities
(aneuploidy). Screening embryos in advance can help achieve higher implantation
rates and fewer pregnancy losses, particularly for women 35 years or older,
individuals with multiple failed IVF cycles or implantation failure, and
couples with repeated miscarriages. An estimated 70% of early miscarriage
is associated with a chromosomal abnormality in the fetus.
