A team of fertility researchers from Australia and Greece has discovered a way of testing IVF embryos using DNA fingerprinting, a process that could one day revolutionize fertility treatment, leading to successful pregnancy.

When couples decide to attend a fertility clinic for IVF, doctors cannot tell them for sure which embryos are likely to develop into successful pregnancies from those that fail to even attach themselves in the womb.

Therefore, they often opt to have more than one embryo implanted, which could increase the chances for pregnancy, but, on the other hand, could result in multiple pregnancies that can be dangerous to both the mother and the babies.

The study by researchers from Monash University and Monash IVF in Clayton, Victoria, Australia, Genesis Athens Hospital and Athens University in Greece, tested the DNA of early IVF embryos before implanting into the womb, and then compared the results with the DNA of the healthy babies that were born. They found a cluster of genes that could be used to established which embryos are likely to make it to full term.

In IVF treatment, a number of eggs harvested from the woman are fertilized in the lab with the man's sperm and the fertilized eggs are allowed to grow for about 5 days until they reach the blastocyst stage when the ones that are deemed most viable are selected for implanting into the woman's uterus.

The study involved 48 women undergoing IVF. When the women's embryos reached the blastocyst stage, the researchers removed between eight and 20 cells from a cell layer known as the trophectoderm. All the women had at least one of their blastocysts transferred to their womb. When giving birth to their babies, blood from the umbilical cord or swabs of cheeks cells were taken and store. Using DNA fingerprinting on these samples to match them with the DNA obtained from the blastocysts cells, the researchers could identify which embryos had successfully developed to full term.

“The ability to select the single most viable embryo from within a cohort available for transfer will revolutionize the practice of IVF, not only improving pregnancy rates but eliminating multiple pregnancies and the attendant complications,” Dr. Gayle Jones senior research scientist at the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratoties said, as quoted by BBC News.

“DNA fingerprinting is the ultimate form of biological identification, but until now it has not been used to identify the embryonic origin of resultant babies born following embryo transfer, nor has it been used for gene expression studies. Our ultimate aim is to find out which genes are expressed by viable blastocysts,” said co-author Dr. David Cram from Monash University.

However, more study needs to be done before these findings become applicable in the clinic, the researchers said.