The Fingerprints of Embryos

May 27, 2008 | Source: TechnologyReview.com

Researchers at Monash University, in Australia, led by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and stem-cell pioneer Alan Trounson, have harnessed DNA fingerprinting (used to settle paternity suits and implicate criminals) to match an embryo to the baby it ultimately becomes.

The technique may help researchers develop tests to more reliably discriminate between viable embryos and their nonviable siblings.

When multiple embryos are transferred into a woman’s uterus during IVF and a single baby is born, there has previously been no way to know which embryo successfully implanted and developed. Instead, doctors currently select embryos for transfer based on a crude visual inspection under the microscope, which fails some 50 percent of the time.

So multiple embryos are often transferred at one time to increase the chances of a successful pregnancy. Multiple births, which put both mother and babies at risk, often result.