Wessex Fertility - Consultation Booklet

Embryo Transfer Policy

Couple Carrier Screening

What is our embryo transfer policy? It is to assess each patient against the following decision flowchart and transfer the number of embryos indicated at the end. The final number of embryos to transfer is, of course also dependent upon the quantity and quality of the embryos that are available. It is usual to freeze any surplus embryos, for possible future use, provided they are likely to survive the freeze and thaw process. When is a decision made about how many embryos to transfer? We will be able to decide on the optimal number of embryos to be transferred when the embryo quality is known. We discuss the number of embryos to be transferred with you at initial consultation and prior to embryo transfer. If you have any concerns about the number of embryos to be transferred we are happy to discuss this with you. Summary Flowchart – Wessex Fertility Embryo Transfer Policy

WHO IS THIS LEAFLET FOR? This information leaflet contains information for our patients who will be offered the option of carrier screening. This information leaflet will explain what this means for you as a gamete recipient or as a couple pursuing fertility treatment with your own gametes. WHAT IS CARRIER SCREENING? All our genes come in pairs and it is quite common to be a carrier of a condition, i.e. have one faulty copy of a gene. Carriers also have a working copy of the gene, to compensate for the faulty one. We often do not know if we are carriers, because this causes us no health problems and we may not have any family history of the condition(s) in question. Some genetic conditions arise as the result of a child inheriting two faulty copies of a gene, one from each parent. If a child inherits two faulty copies, they have the condition. This is called autosomal recessive inheritance. Previously, we did not perform routine carrier testing of such conditions prior to pregnancy, because each condition is individually rare. Recent advances in genetic technology means it is now possible to test for many different carrier states in just one test (for the test discussed here we have included 70 conditions). By combining 70 different conditions we find that the overall chance of both people being carriers for the same genetic condition is around 1 in 150. We call this test preconception carrier screening. WHO IS THIS TEST FOR? The test is performed before the start of the treatment. This can be either treat- ment for two people using their own gametes, or couples and individuals pursu- ing treatment using donor gametes. WHAT IS THE CHANCE OF BEING A CARRIER COUPLE AND WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? The chance of both people being a carrier for one of the tested conditions is approximately 1 in 150. If a family member has already been diagnosed with such a condition, or if both people whose gametes are used to conceive are related biologically (i.e. cousins), the chances of being carriers could be higher. The tests check the two people whose gametes are used to conceive the child. The result of the combination of the two is the only result which has health impli- cations for the future child. The test will result in one of two outcomes: • both gamete providers are a carrier of the same genetic condition and the chances of any future child affected by this condition are greatly increased. • both gamete providers are not a carrier of the same genetic condition included in the test and there are no health implications for a future child.

Further independent information on this subject is available on www.oneatatime.org.uk.

WF01-INF-CLN-0028

Rev 10

Page 2 of 2

WF01-INF-CLN-0175

Rev 2

Page 1 of 4