New tests improve in vitro fertilization
Updated: 2013-07-24 21:35 By Chen Hong and Li Yifei ( chinadaily.com.cn)
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中信湘雅生殖与遗传专科医院
Reproductiv and Genetic Hospital CITIC-Xiangya
Credit: CITIC-Xiangya
Scientists in Shenzhen said they have applied a new genome sequencing method to detect genetic defects among in vitro fertilized embryos, which can lead to a higher chance of having healthy babies for couples who suffer infertility.
The first baby screened with the new method - who was born in Hunan province on Aug 24, 2012, weighing 2.4 kg - is now at normal development, BGI Shenzhen announced at a news conference on Monday.
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Scientists removed seven to 12 cells from morphologically normal human embryos five days after fertilization in vitro for preimplantation sequencing. Then they used the latest DNA technologies to detect abnormalities, which will determine the genetically intact embryos.
“The preimplantation sequencing may have a crucial role in improving the efficiency and safety of human assisted reproduction,” said Du Yutao, vice-president of BGI Health Group.
Gabor Vajta, a professor from the University of Copenhagen, said the discovery can bring the success rate of pregnancies from 50-55 percent to around 60-70 percent.
Nearly 5 million babies have been born using in vitro fertilization since the birth of world's first test-tube baby in 1978.
In recent years, new-generation sequencing has been widely used in stem cell transplant and metastatic tumor cells, mainly associated with the improvements of human health, according to BGI.
“The new-generation sequencing method shows significant accuracy enhancement over other existing screening techniques in identifying abnormalities in embryos, which allows doctors to only implant a healthy lab-fertilized egg in the womb,” said Lu Guangxiu, president of Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of Citic-Xiangya, which cooperated with BGI.
According to BGI, Citic-Xiangya transferred sequenced embryos for 33 couples and has achieved 22 pregnancies since 2010. The success rate stood at 66.7 percent. So far, 17 healthy babies have been born.
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About BGI
BGI was founded in Beijing on Sept 9th, 1999 with the mission of supporting the development of science and technology, building strong research teams, and promoting the development of scientific partnership in genomics field.
With a goal toward excellence, high efficiency, and accuracy, BGI has successfully completed a large number of projects. These include sequencing 1% of the human genome for the International Human Genome Project, contributing 10% to the International Human HapMap Project, the first Asian diploid genome, 1000 genomes project, human Gut Metagenome, , being a key player in the Sino-British Chicken Genome Project, and completely sequencing the rice genome, the silkworm genome, the potato genome, carrying out research to combat SARS and, most recently decoding the genome of Germany deadly E.coli,.
In 2007, BGI’s headquarters was relocated to Shenzhen as the first citizen-managed, non-profit research institution in China. With the integrative structure of research innovation, platform development and industrial application, BGI aims to develop research collaboration and provide scientific support to scientists all over the world, contribute to the advancement of innovative biology research, molecular breeding, healthcare and related fields. BGI is dedicated to facilitate the applications in Healthcare, Agriculture, and Environment, to serve the people for a better life.