Rise in Hong Kong women taking extra DNA test during fertility treatment

Mothers starting a family later in life are increasingly opting for embryo screening to avoid abnormalities, but critics raise religious and moral issues

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According to a recent study, the screening technology helped to minimise the miscarriage rate in IVF cases from 39 per cent to 2.7 per cent. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:00am, 9 Jun 2017Updated: 3:03pm, 20 Jun 2018

Fertility doctors have reported a growing trend of women marrying later in life using controversial and expensive “test tube baby” technology to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

A private clinic said more women who used in vitro fertilisation (IVF) were undertaking an additional DNA test of their embryos, screening out those with chromosomal abnormalities.

The procedure ensures only healthy ones are picked and transferred back into the mother’s body.

Dr Lam Po-mui (left) and Dr Wong Wai-yee are treating more and more woman over the age of 35. Photo: Emily Tsang

The use of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), which costs around HK$40,000, has raised religious and moral concerns around the world.

But local doctors said it reduced the likelihood of women who were aged 35 or above suffering a miscarriage.

“The screening can help to boost the successful rate of pregnancy and increase the chance of giving birth to healthy babies,” gynaecologist Dr Wong Wai-yee said.

Wong said the number of women at her private clinic seeking help through IVF was rising by 10 per cent a year.

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