ABSTRACT
In the mid-1980s, the development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategies for amplifi cation of specifi c fragments of DNA from single cells (1-3) facilitated preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of inherited disease using one or more cells biopsied from embryos at preimplantation stages after in vitro fertilization (IVF) (4). Currently, PGD requires the removal of one or more cells from each embryo, making embryo biopsy comparable to amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling at fetal stages, since the primary aim is the removal of suffi cient embryonic tissue to allow diagnosis.
