No outcome benefits from higher utilization of PGT-A for aneuploid embryos

A just published study in the Journal for Assisted Reproduction and Genetics (JARG)* reported no outcome benefits from higher utilization of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploid (PGT-A) of embryos during in vitro fertilization (IVF) but demonstrated increased utilization of PGT-A with non-medical ownership of IVF clinics.

Using national IVF outcome data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a just published study in the medical journal JARG by Florida and New York based investigators reported interesting results regarding the utilization of PGT-A in association with IVF. PGT-A involves the chromosomal investigation of embryos prior to their transfer into a woman’s uterus for the purpose of excluding chromosomal-abnormal embryos. Under several names and having undergone several technical changes, this test has been used with increasing utilization for over 20 years with over time changing indications, - but always with alleged intent of improving IVF cycle outcomes.

Over this time period, PGT-A has, however, also become increasingly controversial because all alleged outcome benefits were increasingly refuted, with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (SART) and its daughter society, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) – in late 2024 finally in a formal “Ethics Report” concluding that none of the alleged outcome benefits were really documentable.

Concomitantly a class action suit about utilization of PGT-A in Australia against one of the largest local providers of IVF services was in 2024 settled, while in the U.S. several class action suits against PGT-A laboratories were filed toward the end of the year, rendering the utilization of PGT-A in IVF more controversial than ever.

Within this context this study investigated two still disputed questions regarding the still increasing utilization of PGT-A in U.S. IVF cycles: (i) Is – as one would expect if PGT-A improved IVF outcomes – higher utilization associated with better outcomes? And (ii) Does the ownership of IVF clinics impact the utilization of PGT-A?

The study provided clear answers to both questions: (i) IVF outcomes did not improve with increasing utilization. And (ii) IVF clinics owned by private equity (i.e., no longer owned by medical interests) had a significantly higher PGT-A utilization than either hospital/medical school- or physician-owned clinics.

This study, therefore, raises additional serious questions about the still increasing utilization of PGT-A in association with IVF and points at a potential motivation for increasing utilization. 

The two senior authors of the study are available for more detailed information regarding the study: Pasquale Patrizio, MD, is Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, and Norbert Gleicher, MD, is Medical Director and Chief Scientist at the Center for Human Reproduction and Guest Investigator at Rockefeller University, both in NYC. They can be reached by calling  212-994-4400 or emailing [email protected].

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*Patrizio P,1,2 Darmon S,2 Barad DH,2,3 Gleicher N. Gretare PGT-A utilization in IVF clinics does not improve live birth rate but relates to IVF center ownership: a preliminary report. J. Assist Reprod Genet 2025;42:81-84

1University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL;

2The Center for Human Reproduction, 21 East 69th Street, New York, N.Y.;

3The Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, New York, N.Y.;

4The Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y.; 2,3,4,5 

 5The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.