At Fleetinsel Fertility Clinic in Hamburg, we concentrate entirely on the full spectrum of fertility treatment and intentionally refrain from carrying out pre-implantation and polar body diagnostics.
Should you wish to have Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) carried out due to a special indication, we will refer you to specialised approved centres.
PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS
With the help of PGD, embryos created through In-Vitro Fertilisation can be tested for genetic defects – before implantation in the uterus.
The use of PGD is permitted to a limited extent in Germany and is regulated in Section 3a of the Embryo Protection Act (ESchG). Accordingly, PGD is permitted if one or both parents have a predisposition to a serious hereditary disease or if there is a risk of stillbirth or miscarriage due to serious genetic damage. The procedure is subject to strict controls and may only be carried out in approved centres.
If you have any questions on PGD or are known to be at risk of inheriting a serious disease, please speak to your doctor.
POLAR BODY DIAGNOSTICS
Polar Body Diagnosis (PBD) is a procedure that is not yet fully developed and allows for the analysis of genetic abnormalities in the egg cell that are inherited from the mother.
PBD is permitted and is used before an embryo has been created in accordance with the Embryo Protection Act. The polar bodies of the egg cell are analysed for possible genetic abnormalities in the genetic material in order to prevent a serious disease from being inherited from the mother. It may also be used to select only healthy egg cells for use in embryo transfer.
It is hoped that the targeted selection of healthy egg cells, particularly in women over 35, will increase the probability of pregnancy after In-Vitro Fertilisation and reduce the likelihood of miscarriage. However, this has not been scientifically proven to date. After two years of using PBD at Fleetinsel Fertility Clinic Hamburg, it has been shown that the use of this method does not increase the live birth rate. Therefore, we no longer offer PBD at present.