Products Of Conception Test (POC)
Author : Professor Ismail Aboul Foutouh
• Updated at: Jun 09, 2024 •
POC stands for Products Of Conception. This test shows if the cause of a miscarriage and pregnancy loss is caused by chromosomal abnormalities. It is very important to determine the cause of the miscarriage, especially if the pregnancy was the result of clinical fertilization. Mothers should know that 25% of clinical pregnancies may miscarry in the first trimester. 50% of miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities, and the percentage increases to 60% for women who undergo IVF reproduction treatment. Each embryo cell contains 46 chromosomes represented by 23 pairs from each the mother and father. Most abnormalities that occur in the number of chromosomes whether its an increase or decrease shall lead to pregnancy loss in the first trimester (first three months).
Products Of Conception (POC)
We at Bedaya Hospital provide Products Of Conception services by analyzing fetal tissues with a technique called Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). This modern medical technology helps doctors determine whether the miscarriage was caused by a chromosomal abnormality.
Doctors advise every woman who has experienced a recurrent miscarriage to undergo a POC pregnancy examination to gain information about the cause of the loss and try to avoid it in the next pregnancy. This examination also provides genetic and hereditary information that enables couples to take preimplantation measures of investigations if needed for offspring free of diseases.
The Products Of Conception (POC) test helps you secure your family's future and plan healthy pregnancies successfully. The results of the test are known within 10 working days and are 99% accurate. Occasionally patients are worried about contamination of the POC sample with the mother’s cells. Bedaya Hospital guarantees the exclusion of any contamination a blood sample is drawn from the mother to ensure that the sample analyzed belongs to solely the fetus.
The process of POC testing
The main steps of the POC test:
- A fetal tissue sample is taken.
- The fetal tissue is being dissected and analyzed.
- The DNA is being extracted from the cell.
- Using the next-generation sequencing technology to analyze the DNA at Bedaya Hospital’s advanced genetics lab.
- Test reports are ready within 10 days.
- Some additional analysis may be required according to the patient's situation.
Couples who have suffered pregnancy loss or been undergoing assisted reproduction treatment are adviced to consider doing this test.
