More than half of first-trimester miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities1.
The POCScreen test is done on the tissue from the miscarriage to evaluate the presence of abnormal chromosome numbers and determine if the miscarriage was caused by the chromosomal abnormality.
The test aims to give you answers after a loss and provide your healthcare provider with information for reproductive counselling.
What is a chromosomal abnormality?
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 in total) within almost every cell in our body. One chromosome of each pair comes from our mother, and the other from our father. The first chromosome pairs are labelled 1-22. The last pair of these chromosomes are the sex chromosomes, which determine gender. Females usually have two X chromosomes, and males have an X and a Y chromosome. A change in the number of chromosomes can lead to a change in development, which may result in a miscarriage. POC can detect extra copies of a chromosome (three copies) called trisomy, missing copies of a chromosome (only one copy) called monosomy, as well as, duplications and deletions (extra or missing pieces of chromosomes). Any changes to the normal chromosome makeup can result in a miscarriage.
