July 2, 2007

scientist react to IVF multiple birth discovery

A study presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology showed how IVF techniques can increase the likelihood of an embryo splitting to form identical twins.

Prof Alison Murdoch, Professor Of Reproductive Medicine, Newcastle Fertility Centre At Life, said:

“This is an exciting paper because, by watching the embryo growing continuously, it has given a new insight into the processes by which the embryo divides. It illustrates how much there is still to learn and the importance of ongoing research in this field. There is a current trend towards the routine transfer of blastocysts i.e. growing the embryos for longer in the lab, before transfer to the womb. We need to take careful account of this new information. Blastocyst transfer may be associated with an increase in the risk of identical twins and this work offers an explanation for why this might be happening.

“The HFEA consultation on single embryo transfer closes this week. This new work raises concerns about the possible selection of single later stage embryos for transfer as this might increase the risk of identical twins. The outcome for identical twins is worse than that for non-identical twins.”