Update on pilot Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening programme at the National University Hospital

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Miss Cheng Li Hui
MP for Tampines GRC

Question No 1078

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the progress of the pilot Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening programme at the National University Hospital; (b) whether it is on track for completion in 2020; (c) what is the eligibility criteria for joining the programme; (d) whether private patients will be able to join the programme; and (e) what is the number of participants in the programme thus far.

Answer

MOH started a three year pilot on Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening (PGS)[1] in 2017. Under the pilot programme, patients who fulfil at least one of the following clinical criteria will be eligible:

1. Age 35 years old and above, regardless of prognosis
2. Two or more recurrent implantation failures, regardless of age

3. Two or more recurrent pregnancy losses, regardless of age

Eligible patients from the three public Assisted Reproduction (AR) centres (i.e. NUH, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKWCH) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH)) can be referred to the NUH lab to undergo PGS.  Patients from the private hospitals can also be referred to the three public AR centres for assessment. 

As of Dec 2018, 221 patients were recruited under the PGS programme and MOH will review the pilot programme after completion.

[1] PGS is a test for chromosomal abnormalities in embryos created through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), before the embryos are implanted into the uterus. The gender of the embryo is not made known to any person who may have an influence in the selection of the embryos for implantation.