Center for Fertility and Gynecology Announces New Chromosomal Screening Procedure

Drs. Michael Vermesh, Marc Kalan, and Nurit Winkler are pleased to announce their newest, most revolutionary chromosomal screening procedure. Located in Los Angeles, California, the Center for Fertility and Gynecology is on the forefront of in vitro fertilization, egg donation, surrogacy, tubal reversal, and gender selection techniques. As leaders in the field of women’s health and fertility, Drs. Vermesh, Kalan, and Winkler offer procedures and treatments that help couples all over the country begin the family of their dreams.

The ultimate goal of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, is to transfer an embryo that has a high chance of implantation and a low risk of miscarriage. Traditionally, pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) involves removing a single cell from a three-day-old embryo.  The chromosomes from that cell are then tested to determine whether the appropriate quantity is present. If two copies of each chromosome are present, the cell is considered normal and the embryo from which it came is considered transferrable. Due to incredible advancements in PGS, the Center for Fertility and Gynecology can now test multiple cells obtained from five-day-old embryos. Drs. Vermesh, Kalan and Winkler then use an advanced method called aCGH (array complete genomic hybridization) to objectively assess each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that should be present in a single embryo. While awaiting PGS results, the embryo is frozen through vitrification, an advanced technique also known as “flash freezing.”  Vitrification preserves the embryo in a glass like state, providing lower risk of damage from freezing and increased chance of successful frozen embryo transfer.

In the first of two studies completed on this updated chromosomal screening technique used at the Los Angeles clinic, women older than 35 experienced a 50 percent higher chance of pregnancy and no first trimester miscarriages. In the second, it was observed that the pregnancy rate for women who screened and transferred a single embryo and that of women who transferred two unscreened embryos were similar.

To learn more about IVF or the chromosomal screening process, the Los Angeles office can be reached through their website at center4fertility.com or by calling (818) 881-9800.