ROPA (Reception of Oocytes from PArtner, or Partner Assisted Reproduction) is a treatment in reproductive medicine that allows married same sex female couples to both participate in the important act of creating a family.
This treatment allows one of the women in the couple to give her eggs (the genetic material that is passed on to the baby), and the other woman will carry the pregnancy. Continue Reading »
We’re dedicating this Instituto Bernabeu forum topic to a very common technique used in the human reproduction laboratory: ICSI or Intracytoplasmic sperm injection. We have prepared this explicative video on the topic, in which Dr. Jorge Ten simply explains what this technique involves, how it is performed, its indications, history and evolution, as well as our reproductive biology team’s efforts to perfect the results. We hope you like it!
Dr. Jorge Ten, Reproductive Biology director of Instituto Bernabeu.
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New technologies are making remarkable progress in the diagnosis of fertility. The latest development that has been incorporated into the range of diagnostic techniques is called array-CGH.
This new genetic test allows us to analyze our cells’ DNA to limits that years ago we would have considered pure science fiction.
The human genome is made up of 46 chromosomes: 23 from the father and 23 from the mother. All of our organism’s genetic information is stored in these chromosomes. The excess or defect of any chromosome region may be responsible for certain diseases or fertility problems, such as implantation failure or recurrent miscarriages.
Until now, the possibility of analyzing our genome was very limited. There were essentially two most commonly used techniques:
The Array-CGH is much more sensitive and efficient than the conventional karyotype and allows us to reach diagnostic levels that are 10 times higher than the karyotype.
For example, we could say that the karyotype is the “general map” of our chromosomes in which we can only see the highest mountains and the largest rivers, whereas the Array-CGH would act like a zoom that would greatly expand the resolution of our map so that the smaller mountains and rivers and would become visible. This means that the chromosomal analysis through Array-CGH allows us to detect chromosomal abnormalities that would be imperceptible in the karyotype.
The Array-CGH technique analyzes the complete genome of an individual looking for gains or losses of genetic material. In other words, the Array-CGH allows us to identify duplications or absences of small chromosomal regions that the karyotype is not able to detect.
With an Array-CGH analysis, the DNA problem is marked in fluorescent green. In parallel, a DNA control (without any chromosomal abnormality) is marked in red.
The mixture of the two fluorescent labels is hybridized against a DNA “chip”. This chip or array contains a collection of molecules of DNA that sweep the entire human genome.
The result of hybridization is analyzed by a scanner. When the DNA content is normal, the scanner detects the colour yellow, which is combination of red and green. But if a certain chromosomal region is in excess or defect, the scanner will detect the colour green or red respectively.
There are several applications to this technique:
To select the embryos that did not implant or caused a miscarriage in an IVF cycle due to alterations in the chromosomes.
To identify possible chromosomal alterations in foetuses in which anomalies were detected by ultrasound.
Nowadays, the Array-CGH is a highly promising diagnostic and therapeutic tool, since it allows us to identify chromosomal alterations that could not be detected by other techniques. It therefore offers a solution to many couples that come to our clinic in their search for a healthy baby of their own.
Dr. José A. Ortiz, biochemist of Instituto Bernabeu
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For your convenience, here you can arrange an online consultation or book an appointment at Instituto Bernabeu.
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Couples who get pregnant, either naturally or through assisted reproductive techniques, are especially worried about the successful outcome of the pregnancy.
Unfortunately, some pregnancies end in miscarriage or fetal loss in the week 20 of pregnancy, when the fetus is not able to survive outside of the maternal uterus. Continue Reading »
Endometriosis is a benign condition in women involving the appearance and growth of endometrial tissue, typical of the uterus, outside this organ. It most frequently appears in the ovaries and rarely outside the abdomen (in the lungs, etc.).
Every time a woman menstruates, this tissue also bleeds but is not able to leave the body. This is when pain, inflammation and fibrosis appear and in some cases, fertility problems.
There has been a lot of discussion about therapies aimed at improving pregnancy rates; especially in patients that have gone through several cycles of treatment without positive results.
This is one of the most frustrating situations that doctors and patients can possibly have.
The inevitable question is: What can we do to improve our chances? Isn’t there anything new?
We think that patients who have received 4 or more high quality embryos without any pregnancy should be thoroughly evaluated through an implantation failure study that should include the three fundamental elements for success: the female, male and embryo factors.
Nowadays, we all know that maternity is being postponed, currently standing at 31 years of age, according to the National Statistics Institute.
This basically means that the average woman has her first child at the age of 31. Continue Reading »
When a female homosexual couple decides to have a child through assisted reproduction techniques, there are several available options:
Since 1988, egg donation has been legally regulated in Spain. It is a well-controlled and anonymous process that can be carried out thanks to the solidarity of many people. We should bear in mind that Spain is the leading country in terms of organ donation, including egg donation and blood donation, which is quite common in our country. Continue Reading »
Klinefelter’s Syndrome is considered the most common chromosomal abnormality in humans, with an incidence of 1 out of every 500 newborn males. Those affected by this syndrome have an extra X chromosome, which leads to primary testicular failure and therefore infertility and hypoandrogenism.
