According to the finings of a new study published in the journal Human Reproduction, screening of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos for genetic defects, via a procedure called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), results in a five-fold increase in the fatality risk of multiple birth babies.

However, the study also said that the PGD procedure, involving the removal of a couple of cells from an embryo for diagnosing abnormalities and diseases, is apparently safe for single babies.

To arrive at the conclusion of the largest and longest-running study of children born after PGD, scientists in Belgium observed the health of 581 two-month-old babies. They also handed out health-related questionnaires to parents and doctors at the time of conception as well as delivery of the babies.

Noting that the study had certain limitations that needed to be taken into account, lead researcher Professor Inge Liebaers, of the University Hospital Brussels, said that as per the data of the study, “it is fair to say that the health of the singleton children born after embryo biopsy for PGD is similar to the health of singleton children born after IVF/ICSI.”

Liebaers further said that the reasons for increased death rate due to IVF screening in multiple pregnancies - given the different demographic and medical backgrounds of the parents - can be gauged only after a long-term follow-up.