When a couple considers having children, it is advisable to start preparing and make a pre-conception visit. In it the doctor will give you certain recommendations, will prescribe a folic acid supplement to the mother and will ask about the medical and family history of each of you, which will be used to detect any risk for the future baby.
Whether there are any, or if the couple wishes to find out without a known history, the doctor will offer you a genetic compatibility test (TCG) or genetic matching (also known as Preconception Screening of Recessive Diseases), an innovative test that allows to determine the risk of having a child with a genetic disease.
What is the genetic compatibility test?
It is a test that prevents the transmission of up to more than 600 genetic diseases by studying the genetic compatibility of parents.
It is based on a novel scientific technology called massive DNA sequencing or Next Generation (NGS) which analyzes thousands of genetic mutations in the DNA of the father and mother.
Once studied, the genetic information of the two is crossed and it is checked if there are altered genes that could be inherited and cause autosomal recessive diseases in the children
It is possible to be a carrier of a genetic mutation without developing the disease. In the event that both parents have a mutation in the same gene, the probability that a child inherits the disease is 25%.
Currently, about 7,000 diseases caused by the alteration of specific genes are known. Although the prevalence of so-called "rare diseases" is low, some of them may be serious, disabling and incurable.
Carrier Mother (healthy) | Carrier Father (healthy) |
|---|---|
Healthy son | 25% |
Carrier Son (healthy) | 25% |
Carrier Son (healthy) | 25% |
Sick son | 25% |
How it is performed?
It can be done from a simple blood test of the father and mother.
The results are obtained after approximately one month of waiting.
And in the case of detecting a genetic incompatibility?
In that case, the couple is offered the possibility of prior IVF (IVF). Preconception Genetic Diagnosis.
In this way, it is possible to determine which embryos are affected and transfer to the mother only those that are free of the disease.
Another possibility is to resort to donating gametes to avoid these diseases.
Keep in mind that, although it is increasingly possible to detect a larger number of diseases, there are many other mutations that are not detected.
The test is not exempt from the ethical debate that involves selecting healthy embryos and discarding those that are carriers of a genetic mutation. In any case, it is a decision that each couple will evaluate if necessary.
How much does the TCG cost?
The price is approximately 600-700 euros, depending on the amount of genetic mutations analyzed.
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