We treat IVF patients who come from different backgrounds ,
and it's interesting to see that the ones who are engineers and MBAs want to use
the latest advanced technology in order to solve their problems . These are the
patients who want us to do all kinds of tests, such as ERA ( endometrial receptivity assay) , PGT (
preimplantation genetic testing) and sperm DNA fragmentation, because they've
read about these newest tests on Dr Google.
They believe that the more the
technology we use, the better their chances of getting pregnant with IVF. They
know that IVF success rates are not 100%, and their belief is that the deeper
we investigate problems using sophisticated technology ( for example, genetics
and immunology), the higher their chances of success with IVF will be.
This is a very tempting conclusion to come to. After all, if
more technology helps to improve smartphone performance, it's it logical that
more technology will also help in the IVF lab ?
Unfortunately , the overuse of technology in medicine often
backfires , and ends up causing over-treatment, which actually reduces
pregnancy rates . Biology is messy because it's a complex adaptive system . You may do an
intervention in good faith , based on sound logic that this will increase
chances, but this often end up having second order unintended consequences
which end up reducing pregnancy rates !
A great example is PGT, which is being oversold as
"precision IVF", so please be careful before being lured down this
path !
What to find an IVF clinic which respects your time and
intelligence ?
Please send me your medical details by filling in the form
at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you !
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