Connor Levy -first IVF baby born using genetic screening method

Connor Levy arrived on May 18,2013 after his parents were offered the use of “next-generation sequencing”-- an in vitro fertilization technique that guarantees the chromosomal integrity of an embryo before it is returned to the mother

When Connor's parents, Marybeth Scheidts and David Levy, underwent IVF at a Philadelphia clinic last fall, 13 embryos were created by the mixing of retrieved egg and sperm, and then cells were taken from each and sent to a British laboratory. Only three of the 13 had the correct chromosomal numbers, and one of those was transferred back into Scheidts

A baby(Connor Levy) in Philadelphia is the first to be born with the help of a new technology that experts hope will make it easier for infertile couples to become pregnant, researchers announced Monday at the annual conference of the European Society if Human Reproduction & Embryology

Connor Levy is the first baby to be born from an embryo screened for genetic abnormalities using a new, fast, efficient and cheap technique called Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) that promises to dramatically improve IVF success rates.

NGS relies on the latest developments in DNA sequencing to screen chromosomes for abnormalities.

Doctors at the Main Line Fertility clinic offered the couple the NGS option which allowed them to check their IVF embryos for abnormalities so as to increase the chances of successful implantation

NGS enables doctors to select embryos with the right number of chromosomes which have better chances of successful implantation leading to birth of a normal and healthy baby.

Doctors at the Main Line Fertility clinic prepared 13 IVF embryos and sent a few cells from each embryo to Dagan Wells, a specialist at the Oxford University, for screening. The tests showed that only three of the embryos were free of abnormalities. With the vital information, the doctors at Main Line Line Fertility clinic were able to select a healthy embryo for implantation while storing the rest away. The embryo implanted successfully and grew into Connor Levy, who was born on May 18,2013

Note
IVF has created more than 5 million babies since it was first used in 1978, and yet it is a procedure with few guarantees. Currently, one in three embryos resulting from IVF have chromosomal abnormalities that prevent the development into a full-term pregnancy.

Experts in the field say the new technique could dramatically increase the pregnancy rate from IVF, by using only the most viable embryos. Until now, the quality of an embryo was educated guesswork, leading doctors to transfer two and three at a time, and contributing to a demographic spike in the births of twins and triplets.