Indications for Preimplantation Genetic Testing at a Nigerian Fertility and Genetic Center: A 5-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the common indications for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) at a regional fertility and genetic center in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of all PGT cycles from 2019 to 2023 at Nisa Premier Hospital Fertility and Genetic Center, Abuja Nigeria. Anonymous records of all in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients and PGT cycles were extracted from the hospital’s registry. Statistical analysis was with the Excel Microsoft software and Epi Tools (Version 2.0) for medical and veterinary epidemiologist. URL: https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/epiR/index.html. Chi-square test was used to analyze statistical association between categorical variables and P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There was a total of 503 PGT out of a total 1622 IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles for a PGT rate of 31%. PGT for aneuploidy (PGT-A) constituted 413 cases (82.1%) of PGTs and PGT for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) composed 90 (17.9%) of PGTs while PGT-A&M combined constituted 3.4% of PGTs. Mean age of the women for PGT was 38.08 years ± SD 6.97 and they represented most of the Nigerian ethnic groups. Most of the women (53.3%) had tertiary level of education. The major indications for PGT-A were recurrent pregnancy loss 87 (21.1%), recurrent implantation failure 87 (21.1%), and gender selection 259 (62.7%). The PGT request for male embryos was 251 while PGT request for female embryos was eight giving a male to female gender request ratio of 96.9%:3.1%, respectively. The major indication for PGT-M was sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) (94.4%). Conclusion: The major PGT indications at the fertility and genetics center were HbS and gender selection. The high demand for male gender selection through PGT, calls for future research or policy recommendations especially in terms of increasing PGT awareness and access in Nigeria.