Couple Karyotyping (pblc)

As many as 15% to 20% of detected pregnancies end spontaneously. For most couples, a miscarriage happens just once and then they are able to go on and have healthy, viable pregnancies. 

However, if a couple has recurrent miscarriages, there can be many reasons for the multiple losses, such as an anatomical abnormality in the woman's reproductive organs, a blood clotting disorder or hormonal problems. Infections, environmental factors and advanced age of either or both parents also are thought to play a potential role in recurrent pregnancy loss. In some couples who have recurrent miscarriages, the problem may be some sort of chromosome abnormality in one or both partners. Karyotyping can be used to confirm if this is the case.

In order to obtain a couple karyotype, blood (usually white blood cells) from one or both parents is used. Sometimes tissue from a lost pregnancy is tested.

• If you have had multiple miscarriages, your doctor may advise you to undergo parental karyotyping, this will identify the cause of frequent miscarriage and associated genetic abnormality in any of the parents.
• For prospective parents dealing with chromosomal issues, IVF can be coupled with a procedure called pre-implantation screening(PGD) which decreases chances of miscarriage

Other names: Parental karyotyping, PBLC

When a cell divides, it needs to pass on a complete set of genetic instructions to each new cell it forms. When a cell isn’t in the process of division, the chromosomes are arranged in a spread out, unorganized way. During division, the chromosomes in these new cells line up in pairs. People normally have 23 pairs (46 chromosomes) in each cell. One of each pair of chromosomes comes from your mother and the other pair comes from your father.

Blood lymphocytes do not generally undergo subsequent cell divisions, however, if stimulated under special conditions they can divide. This process of cell division is halted at a particular stage to give clearer picture of the chromosomes inside the cell. A karyotype is a test that examines the chromosomes in these dividing cells. The pairs of chromosomes are arranged by their size and appearance. This helps identify if you have more or fewer chromosomes than 46 or if there is anything unusual about the size or shape of your chromosomes.

Requirement: No special precautions are necessary before getting test done

Interpretation:

Karyotyping can identify the cause for infertility or repeated miscarriage. Knowing why you can’t get pregnant, or why you keep miscarrying, may help your doctor recommend the best treatment options.Testing done before fertility treatment is to avoid passing on a genetic birth defect to a future child. Looking at results your doctor may also be able to advise you on the IVF related risks and chances of carrying viable pregnancy. This also decreases the odds of miscarriage in IVF guided pregnancy with pre-implantation screening performed for both parents, which can be important for couples emotionally.

Parental karyotyping will help couple to understand their options and ways to attain future viable pregnancy.