Gestational surrogacy and the role of routine embryo screening: Current challenges and future directions for preimplantation genetic testing

Abstract

Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) is a component of IVF entailing selection of an embryo for transfer on the basis of chromosomal normalcy. If PGS were integrated with single embryo transfer (SET) in a surrogacy setting, this approach could improve pregnancy rates, minimize miscarriage risk, and limit multiple gestations. Even without PGS, pregnancy rates for IVF surrogacy cases are generally satisfactory, especially when treatment utilizes embryos derived from young oocytes and transferred to a healthy surrogate. However, there could be a more general role for PGS in surrogacy, since background aneuploidy in embryos remains a major factor driving implantation failure and miscarriage for all infertility patients. At present, the proportion of IVF cases involving GS is limited, while the number of IVF patients requesting PGS appears to be increasing. In this report, the relevance of PGS for surrogacy in the rapidly changing field of assisted fertility medicine is discussed. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:98–102, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.