Genetic testing can help protect your future children

The physicians at TFC San Antonio know that genetic disorders can be sneaky. While some people know that they carry a certain disorder, others may have no idea that they could pass a genetic disorder to their future children. To help you mitigate this risk, our San Antonio fertility center offers genetic testing.

There are several options for genetic testing

Our San Antonio fertility center offers more than just one type of genetic testing. Depending on your needs, our physicians may recommend preconception carrier screening and/or preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

• If you want to start a family, you and your partner should undergo preconception carrier screening to determine whether either of you carry an inheritable genetic disorder. It’s easy to undergo screening, because all that is required is a sample of your saliva or blood.
• If preconception genetic screening indicates that you or your partner carry a genetic disorder, you can still have a healthy baby with help from preimplantation genetic diagnosis, PGD. After your eggs are retrieved and fertilized, and they develop into blastocysts, our embryologists will microsurgically remove 3-5 cells from the embryo in order to combine them with a genetic probe. This test can determine which of your embryos have the genetic disorder, which ones are carriers, and which ones are genetically normal.

Not everyone knows that they carry a genetic disorder

You might think that you don’t need genetic testing, but not everyone knows their carrier status. Our San Antonio fertility center has seen multiple couples undergo testing only to discover that one or both partners is an asymptomatic carrier of a genetic illness. Since they show no symptoms, they had no idea that they carried a disorder that they could pass to their children. With preconception genetic screening and PGD, however, they can essentially eliminate the risk that they will pass this disorder on. Instead, these tests will enable them to give birth to healthy children.

That’s what happened with one TFC couple. They learned that they were at risk of passing the gene for sickle cell to their future children. However, with help from genetic testing, they were able to add a healthy baby to their family.

If you would like to learn more about genetic testing at TFC San Antonio, please contact us today to schedule an appointment. You can protect your family from genetic disorders by taking proactive steps like undergoing preconception carrier screening and PGD.