Frequently Asked Questions

At this time, Orchid does not work directly with insurance providers, and unfortunately, no coverage is expected. Orchid's screening is entirely self-pay.

Yes, however proceeding with IVF in the US is preferred. If this is not an option or you have additional questions email us at genetics@orchidhealth.com

You can still request Orchid's testing. Many clinics are open to patient requests and will coordinate with Orchid if asked. Since Orchid's workflow is a bit different, the clinic may need to get set up with Orchid first. It's a good idea to discuss this early with your doctor – you may need to advocate for using Orchid, but Orchid's team can facilitate the partnership with the IVF center. To get started, reach Orchid's board-certified genetic counselors at genetics@orchidhealth.com.

Depending on your IVF center, Orchid will bill either you or the IVF center directly for the screening. In many cases, the patient pays Orchid for the genetic testing portion, while the IVF center might charge separately for the biopsy procedure.

Yes. Orchid has specific consent forms for PGT-WGS that are separate from your IVF center's consent forms.

Orchid's PGT is performed in its specialized genetics laboratory in North Carolina, which is CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified.

Once analysis is complete, Orchid delivers the embryo report to your clinic through an online portal and/or email. Orchid's screening also includes a session with a board-certified genetic counselor to walk through the findings, and once this consult is complete, patients have access to their results in their own portal.

Orchid performs a dry run to verify the biopsy and shipping procedures. If you'd like to learn more about getting your clinic set up to work with Orchid, reach our board certified genetic counselors at genetics@orchidhealth.com.

Orchid provides biopsy transport kits. After an embryo sample is collected (biopsy), each sample is placed in a labeled tube (with a buffer or medium) and kept cold. IVF centers ship these via courier to Orchid's laboratory (which is CLIA/CAP accredited).

Yes, your IVF center will need to be onboarded with Orchid. While Orchid already partners directly with many fertility centers across the U.S., if your clinic isn't yet connected, they can easily reach out to Orchid to become a provider (genetics@orchidhealth.com). The onboarding process is straightforward, and most clinics are up and running within just a few weeks.

The first step to working with Orchid is a complimentary call with our board certified genetic counselors which can be scheduled here. They'll guide you in terms of next steps with your clinic!

In a small percentage of cases, PGT results come back as "no result" or inconclusive for an embryo. This can happen due to a failed biopsy, sample contamination, issues in transport, or anything that negatively impacts the accuracy of the results. Most often, the exact cause is unknown. Embryos that receive a "no result" may be considered for rebiopsy. The risks and benefits of a rebiopsy as well as your clinic's policy should be discussed with your IVF physician.

Yes, PGT-A inherently checks sex chromosomes, so it can tell if an embryo is chromosomally female (XX) or male (XY) and can also detect aneuploidy of the sex chromosomes (eg extra or missing copies)

No - due to the nature of PGT-WGS, some results may be sex dependent and therefore masking of sex is not available.

Yes, in some circumstances. There is a lot of research into outcomes from transferring mosaic embryos that show a range of outcomes from failed implantation/miscarriage to healthy live births, to a live birth with health concerns. It's important to discuss your clinic's policy surrounding the transfer of mosaic embryos with your doctor, as it may or may not be possible. For those who complete Orchid's embryo screening, post test counseling is included to review the results, including a discussion of mosaicism, if indicated.

If none of the embryos have results that you and/or your clinic would feel comfortable with transferring (for example, all are aneuploid or affected by a genetic disease), your doctor will discuss next steps. Options might include doing another IVF cycle to get more embryos, considering donor eggs/sperm if the issue is likely to recur, or in some cases transferring a "mosaic" or lesser-risk embryo with careful counseling. Genetic counselors can help interpret what the risks would be if you choose to implant an embryo with abnormalities.

Decisions about what to do with embryos that are not transferred are solely between you and your IVF center. This is an important conversation to have before genetic screening to know what your clinic's policies and practices are.

The chromosomal testing results are typically the biggest factor that impacts prioritization of embryo transfer. Generally, a proportion of embryos in any IVF cycle will be aneuploid (have abnormal chromosomes). Orchid goes beyond PGT-A and provides PGT for hundreds of monogenic conditions. We estimate about ~3% of all embryos we screen will have a significant monogenic finding which likely will impact which embryo is selected. Orchid's polygenic screening provides information about an embryo's risk of chronic diseases compared to the average individual in the population. Families may use this information to guide transfer decisions based on their unique priorities.

Yes. While PGT is a highly accurate screening, it is not a diagnostic test because it is performed on cells that become the placenta, not the baby. This is why no embryo screening replaces prenatal diagnostic testing through an amniocentesis - whether or not you choose to pursue prenatal testing is a very individual decision that will depend on many factors in your pregnancy.

After the embryos reach blastocyst and are biopsied at your IVF center, the tiny cell samples are placed in special tubes provided by Orchid and shipped to Orchid's CAP/CLIA-certified laboratory. The embryos themselves remain frozen at your clinic – only the biopsied cells are sent for testing. Orchid's lab then analyzes cells and reports the results to your doctor and you.

If you are proceeding with IVF and are interested in Orchid, the first step is a complimentary call with one of Orchid's genetic counselors which you can book here. Next, your IVF physician must order Orchid's embryo screening on your behalf. If your clinic is already partnered with Orchid, they will coordinate sending the biopsy samples to Orchid's lab. If not, your clinic can reach out to Orchid to get set up.

The turnaround time for Orchid's embryo screening is a minimum of 3-4 weeks from when the biopsies are received. For this reason, most patients need to wait a cycle before transferring an embryo.

Embryos are typically biopsied at the blastocyst stage (Day 5 or 6 of development) when they have 100+ cells. An embryologist removes about 5 cells from the trophectoderm (the part that would become the placenta).

Yes. Because it takes time to get PGT results, embryos are frozen after biopsy and stored until you're ready for transfer. A "fresh" transfer (without freezing) is not possible with embryo screening since results aren't immediate. Once results return (typically in 3-4 weeks), a frozen embryo transfer can be scheduled.

No, embryo biopsy has become very common in the IVF process and is considered low risk. The cells taken are from the trophectoderm (future placenta), not the inner cell mass which will form the baby. Each clinic will quote their own risk number for how likely it is that the embryo will stop growing after the biopsy, but is usually between 1-5%.

After an egg retrieval or an egg thaw, eggs are fertilized and develop for at least 5 days. At this time a trained embryologist at your clinic takes a few cells from the embryo. The sample is then sent to the PGT lab for genetic analysis. The embryos are frozen at your clinic until the results are available. You and your doctor use the information to decide which embryo to transfer.

The number of embryos that each couple can expect to create from an IVF cycle is very dependent on their specific fertility metrics and particulars of their situation. While your fertility provider will be the best resource to estimate this for you, Orchid's Embryo Calculator can give you an idea based on population averages.

Yes. PGT-A can be done on donor-conceived embryos to detect chromosomal conditions that can happen regardless of the age of the egg or sperm source. Orchid can often provide PGT-M (if indicated) without requiring donor samples and has the added benefit of offering additional insight into monogenic and polygenic risks to provide more information. If you are considering Orchid and using donor gametes, please email genetics@orchidhealth.com

No, Orchid's embryo screening is only available on embryos that are created through the IVF process. Orchid's couple's report can offer insights into potential risk estimates for polygenic conditions for prospective parents for those unsure about pursuing IVF or who are just interested to know their own risks!

Yes. Embryo screening can benefit anyone going through IVF because it can detect genetic conditions regardless of personal or family history. PGT-A detects chromosomal abnormalities that are typically not inherited and can happen in anyone's IVF cycle. Orchid's PGT-WGS can also detect non-inherited genetic mutations within the ~1200 genes screened.

Yes. If you already have a known genetic condition in your family, targeted testing of embryos for that mutation may be available to reduce the risk of that condition happening again. This is called PGT-M. At Orchid, this process is typically much shorter and more accessible, as we do not need to build the test specific to your family, as most labs do. To get started and confirm Orchid can help for the condition in your family, email our board-certified genetic counselors at genetics@orchidhealth.com.

PGT-M (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Monogenic conditions) screens embryos for specific single-gene disorders that are known to run in the family (eg, Cystic Fibrosis, BRCA).

Anyone undergoing IVF can benefit from Orchid's PGT-WGS! Some examples of those who might be most interested include: Patients who want the most information; Patients who might traditionally do PGT-M: Orchid does not require probe development which means fast turnaround time and other family members are not needed; Patients of advancing paternal age who are at increased risk for de novo (new) variants; Patients are concerned about neurodevelopmental disorders, pediatric cancers, and/or birth defects; Patients who are concerned about any of the conditions we offer genetic risk scores for (e.g. Type 1 Diabetes and Schizophrenia).

PGT-P (polygenic risk screening) may be considered by couples who want to reduce their future child's risk of common diseases like heart disease, diabetes, or schizophrenia.

Orchid's curated list of ~1200 genes has been selected based on decades of research by geneticists, which has identified the genetic basis for a proportion of neurodevelopmental disorders, birth defects, and cancers. Orchid's polygenic screening is based on large population studies to examine the genetic influence on common, complex conditions where the genetic component of risk is well documented and validated.

PGT-M is recommended for couples known to be at risk for a specific genetic disorder – for example, if both partners are carriers of a recessive disease (like cystic fibrosis) or one partner has a dominant mutation (like BRCA).

Any IVF patient can consider PGT-A, especially women 35 or older and those with a history of miscarriage or failed IVF.

No. There is no single test that can identify all genetic diseases - Orchid targets a curated set of hundreds of severe monogenic diseases and a selection of common polygenic conditions.

PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy) examines embryos for chromosomal abnormalities, specifically missing or extra chromosomes. This testing helps identify chromosomally normal (euploid) embryos for transfer, potentially reducing the risk of conditions like Down Syndrome (caused by a third copy of chromosome 21).

Orchid's whole genome embryo screening (PGT-WGS) is a comprehensive embryo test that combines PGT-A, PGT-M (if needed), PGT-P, and more in one analysis, all from the same sample needed for typical embryo screening. By sequencing >99% of the embryo's genome, it screens for extra/missing chromosomes, hundreds of single-gene disorders, and polygenic risk factors in a single report.

Orchid's Whole Genome embryo screening provides 100x more data than traditional screening and identifies chromosomal aneuploidies (e.g. Down syndrome), hundreds of single-gene disorders (inherited or de novo), and can report polygenic risk scores for certain common diseases.

PGT-P (Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Polygenic conditions) assesses an embryo's genetic predisposition to common complex diseases. These diseases (such as heart disease, diabetes, or certain cancers) are influenced by many genes as well environmental factors. Orchid's PGT-P analyzes hundreds to thousands of genetic variants, to identify embryos with elevated genetic risk compared to the general population.