Who can use Orchid?

Families, like babies, come in all shapes and sizes. Inclusivity is a core tenet of Orchid’s mission to help every couple have a healthy baby and to expand the healthspan of future generations. Our Couple Report tells you if your future child is expected to have an elevated or normal genetic risk to 10 top chronic diseases.

This is based on assessing how the DNA of the egg and sperm source of an intended pregnancy can combine in different ways. Our statistical models are then able to represent your future child’s potential genomes and report their measured genetic risks.

What this means is that Orchid’s report is inclusive of different types of family building options. Examples of who can use Orchid can include:

Couples in which both partners are planning to be the genetic contributors for their child. This means they will receive a preconception report, as well as individual reports of their own genetic risks for both the male and female partners.
Same-sex couples who intend to use a known sperm or egg donor and opt to pursue fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF). The individuals who could take Orchid’s preconception screening would be the individuals providing the egg and sperm source of the intended pregnancy. In the case of a same-sex couple, one partner along with the known gamete donor who is able to provide a saliva sample for testing could take Orchid’s Couple Report.

If there are other ways that you’re planning on growing your family and think we can help, drop us a line at hello@orchidhealth.com and let us know how we can better support your journey to parenthood.

When can I use Orchid?

You can choose to take Orchid’s Couple Report at any time during your reproductive journey — before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or after having a child.

Many interested couples want to know this information before planning to have their first child. Having this information at the earliest stages of family planning — even before conceiving — can help couples prepare and decide whether they would choose to act based on this information ahead of time.
Some may choose to take the screening test while pregnant. Expecting to bring a new life into this world breathes a whole different meaning for what it means to be healthy and have a healthy family, and couples may want this information to know about pertinent watch-outs to optimize their family’s health.
Some may already have one or more children but are planning on having more kids in the future. Whether you’re worried about a specific disease that runs in your family that you previously were not able to quantify genetic risk for, or just want to make use of the latest science, you can use this information for your current family, and as you may plan for future children.
Still some have built the family they’ve wanted. You may plan on using Orchid to gain more clarity about your own individual genetic risks for the 10 chronic diseases screened. The Couple Report can also provide an “estimate range” for the genetic risks your children have, based on you and your partner’s combined DNA.

We support and encourage all spectrum of choices in how parents-to-be want to use this information. You’re in control of if and when you’d like to know about how your genetics can impact your family’s health!

What can be done if there is an increased risk that’s discovered?

If your Couple Report shows an increased genetic predisposition to a condition, you have options about how you want to use this information. Actions can be taken to mitigate those risks including:

Tailoring your family’s diet, fitness, and health

Orchid results can help you better prepare for the future through personalized preventative measures and increased awareness. Healthy lifestyle changes can offset genetic risks to these chronic conditions and being able to measure these risks puts you one step ahead of the game.

Choosing to mitigate your future child’s genetic risks through follow-up embryo testing

If you’ve taken this test before conceiving and your future child can have an elevated genetic risk of a condition, one option is to choose to lower your future child’s genetic risk through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and follow-up embryo screening. By determining each embryo’s genetic risk for certain conditions, you can elect to prioritize transferring embryos with the lowest genetic risk.

Resources on family planning

We know there are many ways to build a family, so it’s important for us to highlight all aspects of the family planning spectrum. Here are several additional guides on building your family — from those wanting kids at a later time, those planning on using gamete donors or gestational carriers, those planning on conceiving now.