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HealthInfo West Coast-Te Tai Poutini

Testing for haemophilia before pregnancy

Testing for severe haemophilia A or B is known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD.

Women who know they carry a gene for severe haemophilia and who want to avoid passing haemophilia to their sons, can ask for PGD. If the woman does not know if she is a carrier, she should ask for carrier testing. This is done by testing her blood for the haemophilia gene.

What PGD involves

It is essential you have genetic counselling, know precisely what will happen, and agree to it (this is called informed consent). You will also have to have some blood tests before PGD.

When the blood tests are completed, you and your partner will go through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), to produce embryos. Each embryo will then be carefully tested to see if it has the haemophilia gene. With the fertility specialist, you and your partner will decide which embryos to implant, so that you can become pregnant.

Funding for PGD

District health boards pay for PGD.

Access to PGD in Christchurch

PGD for severe haemophilia is available in Christchurch, through the co-operation of Canterbury Health Laboratories, Fertility Associates, the Canterbury District Health Board Haematology Service and the West Coast DHB.

You don't have to live in Canterbury to get PGD in Christchurch. Funding for New Zealand residents is available from the Ministry of Health nationally. Anyone can ask for PGD in Christchurch, no matter where they live.

Getting referred for PGD in Christchurch

To get referred for PGD in Christchurch, talk to your GP.

Written by Haematology Department, Christchurch Hospital. Adapted by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed May 2020.

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Review key: HITHP-25315