New IVF Technique Could Triple Number Of Births

IVF technique which claims to triple the chances of a successful birth is being described by some in the scientific community as the biggest breakthrough in fertility treatment for years.

It uses time-lapse imaging to look at embryos and identify those which have chromosomal abnormalities.
Embryos affected with this condition, known as aneuploidy, will not implant in the womb and can lead to miscarriage, or birth defects such as Down's syndrome.
Researchers at British IVF clinic operator CARE Fertility used the technique to select "low-risk" embryos not likely to have chromosomal abnormalities.
By doing so, they believe it can raise the chances of a successful birth from the current average of 25% to around 78%.
In most IVF labs, a developing embryo yet to be transferred to a womb will be checked up to six times over a five-day period.
Time-lapse imaging allows more than 5,000 snapshots to be taken over the same period.
Professor Simon Fishel, managing director of CARE Fertility Group, said: "In the 35 years I have been in this field this is probably the most exciting and significant development that can be of value to all patients seeking IVF."
Stuart Lavery, consultant gynaecologist and director of IVF at Hammersmith Hospital, London, said: "Time-lapse imaging of the early development of human embryos offers the exciting potential of a novel and non-invasive way of selecting the embryo with the greatest chance of implantation outside the womb."
Each year licensed clinics in Britain carry out 60,000 IVF treatments, with couples paying between £5,000 and £10,000 for each cycle.
Experts agreed a randomised trial was needed to compare time-lapse imaging with conventional techniques.
Sue Avery, director of Birmingham Women's Fertility Centre, said: "Until the new technique is compared to current practice we cannot know whether different embryos are being chosen.
"The IVF community needs a prospective randomised controlled trial to prove that the new approach delivers better results before it can be recommended to patients."

SOURCE : http://news.sky.com/story/1092047/new-ivf-technique-could-triple-number-of-births