Belgian researchers said that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), an embryo screening test, was safe for the children of singleton pregnancies.

PGD is done using one or two cells removed from the embryo for testing it for abnormalities and diseases.

The researchers conducted a test on 581 children born at a Belgian centre over 13 years who had been screened using the PGD technique.

They found that there were similarities in the rates of birth defects and deaths with children born through IVF methods.

Researchers reported in the journal Human Reproduction that no significant difference in birth defect rates was seen when compared to around 2,889 children who were born through IVF and had not undergone the screening.

Study leader Professor Inge Liebaers, from the University Hospital Brussels, said, "It is fair to say that from the data of our study and taking into account the limitations of the study the health of the singleton children born after embryo biopsy for PGD is similar to the health of singleton children born after IVF/ICSI.

Professor Joe Leigh Simpson of the Florida International University said that Professor Liebaers' study was good and showed that, "In experienced hands, removal of one (or more) blastomeres does not result in an increase in birth defects and patients can be told that PGD is safe."

“At present there is no explanation for why the prenatal death rate should be so high in the PGD/PGS (pre-implantation genetic screening) children, and we need to be careful about drawing firm conclusions from these observations as they may be biased due to low numbers," Liebaers said.