The World Egg Bank Now Offers the Most Advanced Genetic Testing Available in the Reproductive Health Community
We can now prevent the diseases that we are not able to cure.
PHOENIX, AZ (JULY 2015) – The World Egg Bank Inc. has announced the first testing of banked eggs and recipients to reduce the incidence of having a child with a genetic disease. The World Egg Bank has partnered with iGenomix to be the first company in the United States to offer clients the Compatibility Genetic Test (CGT), an advanced testing method that uses cutting-edge technology to rapidly identify 4,000 mutations in over 500 genes.
Next-generation DNA sequencing provides a highly accurate analysis of the parents’ DNA and uses multiple reads that result in higher mutation detection rates and fewer missed carriers over older, traditional technology. This test will help ensure that couples using egg donation are matched with a donor that does not carry the same gene mutations as the father, which could result in a child affected with a life-threatening or debilitating genetic disease such as Gaucher’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and muscular spinal atrophy.
“In the future, this will be the norm for all tissue banks offering donor eggs or sperm,” says Kimbal O. Pomeroy, Scientific Director for the World Egg Bank. “Patients want to reduce as much as possible the probability of having a child born with a genetic disease, and this technology provides that.”
Statistics show there is approximately a 1 in 100 chance that a newborn will have a genetic disease if there is no testing/matching. These odds are reduced to approximately a 1 in 100,000 chance that a genetically matched newborn will have a genetic disease. With the CGT, The World Egg Bank’s patients can make crucial steps to prevent reproducing children with genetic diseases before becoming pregnant.
“It is a great honor to be the first in the U.S. to offer intended parents a way to help prevent birth defects and disease,” says Diana Thomas, Founder and CEO of The World Egg Bank.
About The World Egg Bank
The World Egg Bank, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is the world’s first frozen egg bank serving the reproductive health community. The World Egg Bank works with all clinics worldwide to provide frozen ova (eggs) to support infertile women and couples. For more information, visit www.TheWorldEggBank.com.
About iGenomix
iGenomix has broad experience in genetic and molecular diagnosis and is one of the world’s leaders in these techniques with affiliates and labs in Brazil, USA, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and India. iGenomix’s efforts in R&D enable the company to create and develop specific proprietary tools to support professionals in the reproductive medicine field. For more information, please visit www.igenomix.com.
