#279 : The Relationship Between Maternal Age and the Chromosomal Status of the Embryo

Abstract

Background and Aims: Maternal age is one of the success factors of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Specifically, advanced maternal age (AMA; defined as [Formula: see text]35 years) shows just a negligible impact upon fertilization rate and a mild impact upon embryo development to the blastocyst stage, but results in a dramatic impact upon blastocyst aneuploidy rate. This is also associated with a progressive decrease in ovarian stimulation so that the number of oocytes and embryos produced from an older maternal age becomes less and the implantation rate decreases. However, the high incidence of embryonic chromosomal abnormalities in young women does not exclusively prove that maternal age is related to the quality of the resulting embryos. This study aims to analyze the relationship between maternal age and the chromosomal status of the embryo. Method: This cross-sectional research was done on 30 embryos from 12 patients aged 28-40 years old who underwent an IVF program in three clinics. Embryos were cultured until blastocyst stage. Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) was done after blastocyst biopsy on day 5 or 6, and chromosomal analysis was done using the next generation testing (NGS) method. Then the relationship between maternal age with embryo chromosomal status was analysed. Results: There is no difference in subjects’ characteristics between the euploid and aneuploid embryo groups (p>0.05). There is no significant difference in maternal age of the euploid and aneuploid embryo groups. (With p=0.690). Conclusion: Maternal age has no relationship with embryo chromosomal status. There is no specific pattern in the relationship between age and chromosomal status, except in the age range of 36 to 40 years, it is found that increasing age increases the number of aneuploid embryos and decreases the number of euploid embryos.