5. Increase your chances of having a healthy baby. Genetic screening is a powerful new technology that helps to ensure your baby is born healthy. By utilizing genetic screening – called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) or preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) – you can ensure the fetuses used during IVF are free of known genetic markers. These can be linked to life-threatening medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, sickle cell anemia and Tay Sachs disease. The tests are not done arbitrarily but, rather, if the mother and/or father tests positively for these diseases or if there is a family history of serious genetically-linked diseases.