The following is a summary of “Health professionals’ role in the transfer of mosaic embryos after preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies,” published in the June 2023 issue of Reproductive BioMedicine Online by Cheng et al.

What are health professionals’ clinical practices, perspectives, and self-assessed competencies regarding the transfer of mosaic embryos? This was a survey-based cross-sectional study. The Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists provided the data—the analysis and documentation of 95 responses. The findings indicate that most healthcare professionals (n = 62) discussed the transfer of mosaic embryos for various reasons and raised concerns about several dangers. 

Although many healthcare professionals were uncertain as to whether mosaic embryos should be transferred, they were more likely to recommend transfer if the mosaicism involved segmental losses versus duplication of the entire chromosome (i.e., trisomy 21) (e.g., OR = 0.21, P < 0.001; OR = 2.78, P = 0.04). To facilitate informed decision-making, most healthcare personnel would inform patients about mosaicism. When discussing the transfer of mosaic embryos, health professionals identified the specific chromosome implicated as the most significant factor. Diverse origins were associated with various self-rated competencies among health professionals. The geneticists and genetic counselors with the highest self-rated competencies were geneticists and genetic counselors. 

Most healthcare personnel were willing to discuss embryonic mosaicism with patients to facilitate informed decision-making. However, the uncertainty of health professionals regarding the transfer of mosaic embryos indicated the absence of a standardized transfer policy. In addition, obstetricians, gynecologists, and those with multi-professional backgrounds demonstrated deficiencies in several self-rated competencies, suggesting that education aimed at these groups is necessary to improve the quality of care provided to women contemplating the transfer of mosaic embryos.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472648323001189