Genetic Sequencing

You may not be eligible for Genetic Sequencing if...

• The birthing person has Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome
• You used a donor or gestational carrier
• You have been diagnosed with congenital uterine anomaly
• Either parent is a recipient of a bone marrow transplant

Patients enrolled and screened in cohort 1, who are determined to be ineligible for sequencing, due to exclusion criteria or inadequate tissues, will be invited to stay in the registry for clinical observation by use of surveys, and will have the option to provide prospective pregnancy loss tissue should another miscarriage occur.

After verifying eligibility and receiving consent to participate, the couples will: 

1. Complete an online survey with questions about your medical and pregnancy history and your medical record will be reviewed for inclusion and exclusion criteria. 

2. Receive a study kit in order to provide a sample (either blood or saliva) for DNA analysis, and optionally a hair sample for environmental exposures. 

3. Tissue from your miscarriage or miscarriages will be analyzed for genetic mutations and changes.

   Tissue and DNA from miscarriages and pregnancy losses potentially can be obtained from past miscarriages through contacting the laboratory or hospital where your miscarriage was diagnosed and managed. A study coordinator will assist you in obtaining tissue from past losses. If you happen to have a miscarriage during the observation period please contact us, we can help you collect this tissue for analysis, by mailing you a kit or instructions.

4. In some cases, you may be asked to contact family members if their DNA may help us understand the importance of genetic changes found in your analysis. Participating family members including children may not have whole genome sequencing but have targeted gene analysis. 

5. Be contacted via email to complete an online survey to update your medical and pregnancy history every 6 months for up to 5 years.

6. If you have a successful pregnancy, you will be asked to provide a DNA sample from your baby or child.

7. If you are planning pregnancy, you may be asked to participate in the Prepregnancy cohort of our study in which additional actions will be taken to examine the function of the genes and the immune system. This is described below and will also be explained to you if eligible.