Dr Satish Patki, Senior IVF consultant of Patki Hospital based out of Kolhapur and Dr Sam Balu, Head of Genomics Department at Lilac Insights, a genetic diagnostic testing company jointly announced the success of the path-breaking technology in IVF (test tube baby) treatment called Non-Invasive Chromosomal Screening (NICS) of the pre-implantation blastocyst embryos. A technology that is offered at very few IVF centres across the world.

Patki Hospital in collaboration with Genomics Department of Lilac Insights is carrying out NICS analysis of many blastocysts. Microphotograph of each blastocyst is taken and the correlation of the morphology and the chromosomal make-up of the blastocyst is done.

"Interestingly five patients have positive pregnancy results after transferring NICS tested euploid blastocysts. The remaining NICS tested blastocysts are frozen and will be transferred soon,” said Dr Satish Patki, Senior IVF Consultant, Patki Hospital.

Dr Sam Balu, Head of Genomics, Lilac Insights, stated, “Non-Invasive Chromosome Screening in IVF embryos is a game-changer. The SureT test (brand name of the Non-Invasive Chromosome Screening test) could be offered as a routine non-invasive screening test for chromosome numbers for most IVF embryos. This is in sharp contrast to the current practise wherein only a few selected embryos are screened using PGT-A, as this method is expensive because it requires a laser, the biopsy process is time-consuming and it is also traumatic to the embryo.”

He added that where a sampling of cells from a single embryo in PGT-A could take up to an hour, sample collection for SureT test can be completed in few minutes. The SureT screening test is a time plus cost-saving, non-traumatic and effective method for screening the chromosome numbers in IVF embryos; which is one of the key factors in determining the success of the pregnancy outcome in IVF treatment."

The first I.V.F. baby of Kolhapur was born in Patki Hospital in 1996 and since then advanced technologies in I.V.F. like micromanipulation, freezing of embryos and many more were documented by Patki Hospital for the first time in the city.