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.