Wessex Fertility - Consultation Booklet

Couple Carrier Screening

Couple Carrier Screening

The test also includes some conditions that are treatable only if they are diagnosed early and treatment begins very soon after birth. A full list of these can be found by visiting the following website: www.couplecarrierscreening.umcg.nl. The donor (egg and sperm) needs to have a blood test taken which is sent with the partners blood sample to the laboratory in Netherlands where the test is carried out. The cost of this test is per couple tested. 2. An individual assessment that can be compared to a donor’s known recessive gene profile. The individual carrier screening test is sent to Instituto Bernabeu in Alicante. This test requires a saliva sample. The cost of this test is per person tested. HOW DO I TAKE THE TEST? You will have the opportunity to discuss preconception carrier screening with a consult- ant at your initial consultation. If you decide you want to have the test the samples can be taken and sent to the relevant clinic for analysis. Results will be available within 6 weeks. WHAT IF I AM USING DONOR SPERM? For patients using donor sperm, some donor banks do provide the carrier test results for their sperm donors and in which case you could then opt to have individual carrier screening carried out. Wessex fertility will provide you with any relevant carrier test results when you choose donor sperm bought in by us. You can then choose whether to go ahead with testing. Wessex Fertility could request carrier testing for any local sperm donors if this has not already been carried out. WHAT IF I AM USING DONOR EGGS? Wessex Fertility do not routinely carry out carrier screening on their egg donors. If you wished this to be carried out you would need to pay for both you and the donor to have this screening completed and usually this would be as the couple test. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? If both gamete providers are not a carrier for the same severe genetic condition, a treatment cycle will start as planned. If both gamete providers are carriers of the same genetic condition, there are several options available:

If both gamete providers are found to be a carrier for the same condition, there is a 1 in 4 chance (25%) of having a child affected by this condition with each and every preg- nancy. If both gamete providers are not carriers for the same condition(s) included in the test, there is still a very small chance of having a child with one of the conditions, as the test cannot 100% guarantee the detection of all carrier states.

WHAT DO WE TEST FOR? We have chosen to offer two different tests:

1. Known as the couple test is for when both partners blood can be analysed togeth- er in the laboratory. It looks at 70 inherited conditions which would affect children at a young age and meet one or more of the following criteria:

• •

It is not curable.

It is usually difficult to treat.

• A child with the condition is likely to be severely physically disabled. • A child with the condition is likely to be severely developmentally delayed. • A child with the condition is likely to die at a young age.

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