Course / The Benefits of PGT-A
Scientific Rationale
The primary driver of miscarriage in IVF and natural conception alike is chromosomal aneuploidy — the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes.
PGT-A identifies these errors before transfer, allowing the embryology team to prioritize chromosomally normal (euploid) embryos for implantation.
Key Clinical Insights
Approximately 50–70% of miscarriages are due to aneuploidy.
Selecting euploid embryos can reduce miscarriage rates by 40–60%, depending on maternal age.
Particularly valuable in advanced maternal age, recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), and prior IVF failure cases.
For surrogacy cycles using donor eggs, while miscarriage risk is already lower, screening adds confidence and efficiency.
Expert Commentary
“When the gestational carrier’s uterine environment is healthy, eliminating chromosomal errors through PGT-A dramatically improves consistency and reliability of outcomes.”
Clinical Significance
Historically, clinics transferred multiple embryos to increase pregnancy odds — which often resulted in multiple gestations (twins/triplets). PGT-A has made it feasible to confidently perform single euploid embryo transfers (eSET) without sacrificing success rates.
Benefits
Equivalent or higher live birth rates compared to multi-embryo transfer without PGT-A.
Reduced obstetric complications (preterm birth, low birth weight, gestational diabetes).
Simplified surrogate care: single pregnancies mean lower physical risk, smoother legal processes, and reduced perinatal cost exposure.
Operational Perspective
For agencies like Surrogacy4All, adopting eSET protocols paired with PGT-A leads to:
Lower insurance and medical risk exposure.
Streamlined pregnancy management for gestational carriers.
Better predictability of outcomes and fewer neonatal intensive care events.
How PGT-A Assists Strategic Family Planning
Enables long-term reproductive planning by identifying and preserving genetically normal embryos for future use.
Allows intended parents to plan sibling cycles efficiently from a known genetic cohort.
In cases using donor gametes, enables genetic quality tracking and documentation for multiple surrogacy arrangements.
Expert Example
An intended couple creates 8 embryos and finds 4 euploid after PGT-A. They can plan one transfer now and securely store remaining euploid embryos for later family expansion, avoiding repeated ovarian stimulations or donor cycles.
Clinical Benefits
Improved time-to-pregnancy for second and third child.
Predictable outcomes in future transfers since genetic normality is already established.
Supports emotional and financial planning for intended parents and agencies alike.
Economic Analysis
While PGT-A adds upfront laboratory cost, in many clinical programs it reduces total cycle cost per live birth when used strategically.
Cost-Efficiency Drivers
Fewer failed transfers due to embryo screening.
Fewer miscarriages, reducing medical, emotional, and logistical losses.
Encourages single embryo transfer, lowering the cost of multiple births and NICU care.
Shortens treatment timelines for achieving pregnancy — fewer cycles needed per live birth.
Applicable Scenarios
Highest ROI: women over 35, recurrent loss, surrogacy involving limited embryo supply, and intended parents seeking sibling planning.
Marginal benefit: young donor eggs with large embryo cohorts — where aneuploidy rates are already low.
Balanced Clinical Perspective
PGT-A is a powerful diagnostic adjunct, but not universally beneficial for all patients or embryo types. Its value depends on:
Patient / donor age
Embryo cohort size
Clinic proficiency in biopsy and genetic testing
Counseling on limitations (e.g., mosaicism, segmental errors, false positives)
When It’s Most Useful
Patients >35 years
History of recurrent miscarriage or failed implantation
Donor/surrogacy cycles requiring high certainty and efficiency
Clinics focused on single embryo transfer success rates
When to Be Cautious
Very young donor cycles
Programs with low embryo numbers (biopsy risk vs reward)
Over-reliance on “genetic normality” as a sole predictor of success
Conclusion:
PGT-A is not an “automatic win,” but a powerful optimization tool when integrated within a well-structured IVF and surrogacy framework.
Always partner with CAP/CLIA-certified genetic laboratories with established mosaic classification standards.
Prioritize blastocyst-stage trophectoderm biopsies for accuracy.
Implement strict sample tracking for cross-lab and cross-border surrogacy programs.
Integrate PGT-A counseling into pre-cycle sessions to align expectations.
Maintain detailed data logs of embryo outcome vs PGT-A status to refine clinical protocols.
Avoid blanket testing in low-risk young egg donor cases — assess clinical need first.
Educate intended parents that “euploid” ≠ “guaranteed success” — but rather a probabilistic advantage.
Our job is to listen, to connect the dots between your needs, and to determine how we can best help you have your baby. If you’re asking how much does it cost for a surrogate, we’ll walk you through every step of the process to ensure there are no surprises.
To make an appointment with one of our counselors or physicians, please call (212) 661-7673 or email info@surrogacy4all.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Surrogacy4All is a unique international surrogacy service targeted at providing state of the art IVF and surrogacy services to Intended Parents irrespective of age, sex or color, at the lowest possible cost in the world.
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