Screening for chromosomal abnormalities in 2650 infertile couples undergoing ICSI

Chromosomal abnormalities are the major contributor to the genetic risks of infertility treatment associated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The study objective was to assess prospectively the frequency of chromosomal aberrations in couples undergoing ICSI. A total of 2650 infertile couples (5300 patients) underwent chromosome analysis before undergoing ICSI in the Egyptian IVF-ET Centre. Heparinized blood samples were cultured, harvested and banded according to standard methods. Overall, 96.94% of the patients studied (5138/5300) had a normal karyotype, while the remaining 162 patients (3.06%) had an abnormal karyotype. Male patients constituted the majority of abnormalities; 138 males (85.19%) and 24 females (14.81%). These chromosomal aberrations included 117 cases (2.2%) of sex chromosome abnormalities; 113 males and four females. Forty-five patients (0.85%) had autosomal aberrations; 25 of them were males and 20 were females. The current data show that chromosomal abnormalities affect 3.06% of infertile patients, and occur in both sexes, but more predominantly in males undergoing ICSI for male factor infertility. It is recommended that chromosomal analysis be performed before undergoing ICSI, to identify patients who can be offered preimplantation genetic diagnosis.