les from having preimplantation genetic diagnosis, said Jamie Grifo, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University. The testing can work miracles for women prone to miscarriages or who carry genetic diseases, he said.
"If you are at risk for genetic diseases, it changes your outlook on starting a family," he said. "PGD allows them to get pregnant. It's a dramatic improvement when it works."
More than 45,000 babies are born each year with the aid of assisted reproductive technologies like IVF, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The use of IVF has declined in recent years, but Grifo said that is largely because baby boomers are leaving their childbearing years. Technologies like preimplantation genetic diagnosis have helped too, making IVF more accurate, he said.
"There has been a lot of progress," Grifo said. "It's helped many patients."
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Contact: April Frawley Birdwell
afrawley@vpha.health.ufl.edu
352-273-5817
University of Florida
20-Dec-2005
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