Answer from: Maria José Mendiola, MD, MSc in Human Genetics, MSc in Science Communication, ObGyn
We may offer a genetic test because of some reasons, for example, if your doctor, your physician thinks you may have a health condition caused by a change related to two or more of your genes, if someone in your family has a health condition that’s caused by changes to genes, if some of your close relatives have had a particular type of cancer that could be inherited, if you or your partner have a health condition that could be passed on to your children. If you have any questions, it is important to talk to your health provider, to your physician about having a genetic test so, it can help to diagnose a rare health condition in the child. It can help you understand if an incorrect health condition may affect you, your child or another family member and help you decide whether to have children. It can show you if you are at high risk of getting certain health conditions including some types of cancer. It also can guide doctors in deciding what medicine or treatment to give you. Last but not least, I consider it so important that a genetic test can guide doctors or whether you are able, if you are able to join a clinical trial.
Answer from: Douglas Lester, PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons)
The earlier, the better. You have to be trying for a child for at least a year before you approach a clinic. If you have the resources and are trying for a year, come to us first before going to an IVF clinic. Some people wait a year for the government IVF clinics in Britain because of COVID-19; come to us. We get a result within a month, and then by the time you visit the clinic, you have an idea of maybe what’s going wrong. That’s the ideal scenario. The real world is that people have failed IVF 1, 2, 3 times.
If we find out you shouldn’t be doing IVF, switch to ICSI; that will save you heartache, time, and the least important money. Money is another consideration. The earlier, the better, but in effect anytime, especially if you’ve been diagnosed with unexplained infertility. If you’ve gone to the clinic and the gynecologist, and the sperm physiologist has looked at both the woman and the man, and there’s no explanation, it’s these people that we’d really like to help. So currently, at least a quarter of them think we’ll be able to find the genetic mutation causing their infertility, and hopefully, we can circumvent that.
