What if scientists could target one of the main reasons IVF becomes less successful with age?
As eggs get older, the biological “glue” holding their chromosomes together begins to deteriorate. Chromosomes can separate incorrectly, leaving an egg with the wrong number. This can prevent an embryo from developing or reduce the chance of a successful pregnancy.
Dr Jordan Abdi joins Richard to explain how U-Ploid Biotechnologies is attempting to intervene in this process and help older eggs behave more like younger ones.
They explore:
• Why egg quality declines with age
• What happens to chromosomes during egg maturation
• The “glue” responsible for keeping chromosomes together
• Why some eggs and embryos have the wrong number of chromosomes
• Whether a treatment could produce more chromosomally normal eggs
• How this could reduce repeated IVF cycles
• The risks, ethics and regulatory pathway
• Why fertility innovation must be supported by peer-reviewed evidence
The ambition is enormous: to reduce the age penalty in IVF and give patients more chances of producing chromosomally normal embryos from each cycle.
But this is not an available fertility treatment or a guaranteed cure. U-Ploid’s work remains in development, with further studies, safety evidence and regulatory approval required before any potential patient use.
ABOUT DR JORDAN ABDI
Dr Jordan Abdi is a physician and Co-Founder and CEO of U-Ploid Biotechnologies.
He holds a medical degree from Imperial College London and a Master of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar.
Before founding U-Ploid, Jordan held commercial leadership roles at PicnicHealth and Holmusk, working across pharmaceutical partnerships, behavioural health, mergers and strategic partnerships.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Can scientists improve ageing eggs?
01:45 Why infertility remains largely incurable
02:48 Challenging what we accept about egg ageing
03:43 How an egg prepares for fertilisation
04:57 What is a polar body?
06:01 Why chromosomes begin failing with age
06:40 The biological “glue” holding eggs together
08:43 Why scientists cannot simply repair an egg
09:42 Supplementing the egg’s missing “glue”
10:48 Making an older egg behave like a younger egg
11:26 The safety questions that must be answered
12:35 The pathway towards human clinical trials
13:20 Research involving donated immature eggs
15:00 Euploid eggs and the ethics of fertility research
17:18 How dramatically egg error rates rise with age
18:27 Could this change IVF success rates?
19:31 Egg freezing, fertility hope and false guarantees
21:02 Could better eggs mean fewer IVF cycles?
22:03 Is egg biology simply too complex to treat?
22:53 Jordan’s advice for patients
24:02 Final thoughts
FIND OUT MORE
U-Ploid Biotechnologies
https://www.u-ploid.com/
Explore the technology
https://www.u-ploid.com/technology
Meet the U-Ploid team
https://www.u-ploid.com/about
News and research
https://www.u-ploid.com/news-research
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This episode is for education and discussion only. It does not provide medical advice. Speak with a qualified fertility professional before making decisions about fertility testing or treatment.
#IVF #EggQuality #Fertility #FertilityScience #ReproductiveHealth #Embryology #Aneuploidy #EggFreezing #FertilityInnovation #IVFDADDIES
