If genetic problems are part of your inability to conceive naturally, you may be interested in taking genetic testing one step further than typical genetic testing done via amniocentesis. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) can be done with assisted reproductive technologies (ART), like IVF. This procedure involves running genetic tests on the embryos before they are placed inside your body for possible implantation.

By using this type of testing you can use only those embryos that do not have genetic issues that could cause severe physical problems or that could be incompatible with life, like the sex-linked gene for hemophilia. With this procedure there do not seem to be inherent risks to the actual embryos, though there are still risks of the associated reproductive technology.