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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Human Blastocyst Biopsy and Vitrification
Published on: July 26, 2019
Reliable preimplantation genetic diagnosis in thawed human embryos vitrified at cleavage stages without biopsy
Li Zhang1, Ahmet Yilmaz, Ri-Cheng Chian
1MUHC Reproductive Center, Royal Victoria Hospital, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Purpose:
To evaluate preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) efficiency in thawed human embryos vitrified without biopsy.
Methods:
In this retrospective clinical study, 21 PGD cycles were carried out using fresh and vitrified-thawed embryos collected from 21 patients.
Results:
One hundred and ninety-nine embryos from patients with aneuploidy, single gene defects, or chromosomal translocations were vitrified at the cleavage stages; 93.5% of the embryos survived the vitrification procedure. Conclusive FISH results were obtained in 98.4% of the fresh and 99% of the frozen-thawed embryos screened for aneuploidy or chromosomal translocations. Conclusive PCR test results were obtained in 100% of the fresh and 93.9% of the frozen-thawed embryos screened for single gene defects. The overall clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was 57.1%. To date, 13 healthy children have been born.
Conclusion:
Reliable genetic diagnosis can be performed in thawed human embryos vitrified without biopsy. However, further research is required to support this conclusion.
