Effect of accessibility of a genetic counselor on uptake of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and carrier screening for patients undergoing in vitro fertilization

Abstract

This retrospective cohort study assessed the accessibility of a genetic counselor on uptake of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and carrier screening in a single academic Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) clinic. A total of 420 patients were evaluated with 219 patients counseled by a REI physician only and 201 patients after the addition of a genetic counselor (GC) to the REI clinic team. Cycles initiated before hiring of a GC (pre-GC) were assessed from June 2018 to December 2018 and after integration of a GC (post-GC) from March 2019 to August 2019. Additionally, information regarding carrier screening was collected if available in the medical record. Results showed more patients utilized PGT-A post-GC (9.5% vs. 5.5%), although the difference between groups did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.12). Individuals who were screened post-GC or who started screening pre-GC and continued screening post-GC were screened for a larger number of conditions than if they were only screened pre-GC (median pre-GC = 3, post-GC = 27, pre- and post-GC = 274; p < 0.0001). The change in practice from using physician-only counseling to counseling with accessibility to a GC did not change the utilization of PGT-A in a single clinic.