Trophectoderm biopsy is associated with lower risks of moderate to extreme prematurity and low birth weights – a national registry cohort study of singleton live births from frozen-thawed blastocyst transfers.

Liu A, Shah T, Wu H, Lieman H, Singh M, Pollack S, Jindal S. AJOG 231:636:e1-9, 2024. PMID: 39029546.

WHY WAS THIS STUDY CONDUCTED?
Safety data on embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic testing has been conflicting because of heterogeneous cohorts and the study of out-of-date assisted reproductive techniques. We aimed to address this gap in evidence by comparing perinatal risks of low birthweight and preterm births between singleton births from frozen blastocyst transfers with vs. without trophectoderm biopsy.

KEY FINDINGS
In this largest national registry study, trophectoderm biopsy is not associated with increased risks of small-for-gestational-age and large-for-gestational-age birthweights, or late preterm births. Trophectoderm biopsy confers lower risks of moderate to extremely low birthweights from moderate to extreme prematurity.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Beyond providing reassurance for the safety of embryo biopsy, our results also show the trend of decreasing risks with worsening severity of low birthweight and preterm births after trophectoderm biopsy.