03/06/2025
Good info, and what I tell patients.
How do PGT-A success rates compare to untested embryos?
A new study by Benjamin Harris and colleagues compared outcomes for good prognosis patients with or without PGT-A having their first IVF cycle.
They measured overall (cumulative) live birth rates after up to 3 single embryo transfers – so patients without PGT-A had up to 3 untested (best quality) blastocysts transferred, and patients with PGT-A had up to 3 euploids transferred. One at a time!
For patients under 35, PGT-A showed a slight decrease in cumulative live births compared to no PGT-A (~65%), and for ages 35–37 there was a slight increase. There wasn't much of a difference here, and I suspect these results aren’t clinically significant.
However, for patients 38–40, PGT-A clearly improved the birth rate. This shows that transferring euploids led to more live births than untested embryos for this age group. This is because older patients are more likely to make aneuploid embryos. Other studies have similar results.
The real benefit of PGT-A probably lies in its ability to identify aneuploid embryos that won't be transferred, and this could be useful even for younger patients. Studies show that these embryos have a very low chance of working, but we definitely need more work in this area to learn more!
An issue with this study is that it looked at a specific group of patients that doesn't really represent those who PGT-A is intended for: they were younger, having their first cycle and didn't have a history of recurrent losses. Nonetheless, given the widespread use of PGT-A in the US, it does give a good idea of what to expect for these patients.
How do PGT-A success rates compare to untested embryos?
A new study by Benjamin Harris and colleagues compared outcomes for good prognosis patients with or without PGT-A having their first IVF cycle.
They measured overall (cumulative) live birth rates after up to 3 single embryo transfers – so patients without PGT-A had up to 3 untested (best quality) blastocysts transferred, and patients with PGT-A had up to 3 euploids transferred. One at a time!
For patients under 35, PGT-A showed a slight decrease in cumulative live births compared to no PGT-A (~65%), and for ages 35–37 there was a slight increase. There wasn't much of a difference here, and I suspect these results aren’t clinically significant.
However, for patients 38–40, PGT-A clearly improved the birth rate. This shows that transferring euploids led to more live births than untested embryos for this age group. This is because older patients are more likely to make aneuploid embryos. Other studies have similar results.
The real benefit of PGT-A probably lies in its ability to identify aneuploid embryos that won't be transferred, and this could be useful even for younger patients. Studies show that these embryos have a very low chance of working, but we definitely need more work in this area to learn more!
An issue with this study is that it looked at a specific group of patients that doesn't really represent those who PGT-A is intended for: they were younger, having their first cycle and didn't have a history of recurrent losses. Nonetheless, given the widespread use of PGT-A in the US, it does give a good idea of what to expect for these patients.
More details about the study on Remembryo, link is in the comments. Want to stay up to date on new IVF research and news? Send me a DM with your email and I'll sign you up to my weekly newsletter!
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐆𝐓-𝐀? 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤-𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.
