All IVF couples should screen eggs to boost chances of baby: researchers Even in cases where the screening test showed all the eggs or embryos were abnormal, the test is still valuable as it allows the couple to decide if they want to use donor eggs instead and avoid repeated and expensive attempts at IVF, the researchers said. Professor Simon Fishel, lead author and Managing Director of CARE Fertility said: "We know that chromosome abnormality is a major cause of miscarriage and IVF failure. Our team at CARE have studied 150 cases, the largest study undertaken world-wide and concluded that using this technique dramatically increases the chance of implantation. All couples undergoing IVF could benefit from this test which can reliably detect faulty chromosomes prior to implantation. He added: "There are opportunities here for all patients, not just the difficult ones. It is clear that even a young woman can have up to 40 or 50 per cent of her eggs being chromosomally abnormal. If you can screen them you can choose the best one or two and implant them. He said that with the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, pushing clinics to implant fewer embryos at a time in order to prevent multiple pregnancies, the screening test would prove useful. Prof Fishel said: "If it wasn't an expensive technology it would be absolutely for everyone." The results, published in the journal Fertilisation in Vitro showed the live birth rate per cycle of IVF started in the screening test group was over 17 per cent compared with just under 15 per cent in the group who had suffered repeated miscarriage and just over 10 per cent in the group who had suffered repeated implantation failure. Dr Dagan Wells, senior research fellow in Reproductive Genetics at Oxford University, said: ""This is good work using a method developed in the UK, which is now widely used around the world. The method provides patients with useful information about the number of healthy eggs they produce. Unfortunately, some will learn that they don't produce any viable eggs. This is a disappointing result, but is still very valuable as it lets them know that IVF is unlikely to work for them, potentially saving them from the heartache, stress and expense of undergoing multiple unsuccessful treatments. Applying chromosome screening to eggs may provide a small improvement in pregnancy, as well as reducing the risks of miscarriage and Down syndrome, but it is important not to over-hype the benefits. Research suggests that much bigger improvements are seen when embryos are screened, rather than eggs.