Interesting article about genetic testing for IVF

BzeetyD

Mister D came across this the other day.

It's from the UK Guardian, and apparently in the UK pre-implantation genetic screening is a newer idea than it is here. 

https://m.guardiannews.com/science/2013/jul/07/ivf-baby-born-genetic-screening

The article sort of jumps between describing what this couple had done (a complete chromosome test - like CCS, or some kinds of PGS) and supposing a full genetic scan/screening (which isn't being done anywhere).

Enjoy!

solisilou

BzeetyD:

solisilou:

That was a very odd article I even looked at the date to make sure it wasn't like 10 years old lol

All the stuff they talked about wasn't really new, and what I don't understand is why would you do a complete genomic sequencing if you just want to screen for chromossomal abnormalities?!? That stuff about detecting Alzheimer's and heart disease is just nonsense or at least a few hundred years away. Of course these kind of articles do a wonderful job at creating mass hysteria because infertile couples will "soon" be able to have a baby tailored to be beautiful and extra-intelligent  lol

I have a particular interest in this subject as I'll be doing my next cycle in the UK and I know my new RE sends the biopsies to Oxford for CGH testing. I just never heard of doing genomic sequencing in this setting... That's one more question for my new RE

Thanks for the article!

Mister D and I were both surprised at how "groundbreaking" the article was essentially calling PGS. But it did say that in the UK doctors can't screen embryos unless it's a dire issus, so maybe it's news to the Brits... I don't know. There are I'm sure hundreds, if not thousands of babies in the US who've had the same testing as this couple. The article is goony in supposing that this is new. 

The whole genome thing is too much, and will likely be too much for a long time in the eyes of many. Firstly, anyone who wants a "designer baby" would need to have the $$, the time and the desire to do IVF in the first place, which is a big hurdle. Secondly, we're far from understanding where every single piece/part of diseases live on each genetic sequence, let alone where controls for height and physical beauty live within the sequence. Thirdly, it veers close to cloning/eugenics and I suspect they'll initiate similar laws against it before or at least as it becomes possible.

I also found odd when they said you can't screen embryos in the UK unless there's a serious genetic problem. A friend of mine who suffered RPL was at the same clinic where I'll be going and she just told me they did CGH on the embies to avoid further losses. Maybe they meant doing PGD with genetic sequencing is only allowed for very specific genetic diseases that severely impair survival or life quality like CF... 

BzeetyD

solisilou:

BzeetyD:

solisilou:

That was a very odd article I even looked at the date to make sure it wasn't like 10 years old lol

All the stuff they talked about wasn't really new, and what I don't understand is why would you do a complete genomic sequencing if you just want to screen for chromossomal abnormalities?!? That stuff about detecting Alzheimer's and heart disease is just nonsense or at least a few hundred years away. Of course these kind of articles do a wonderful job at creating mass hysteria because infertile couples will "soon" be able to have a baby tailored to be beautiful and extra-intelligent  lol

I have a particular interest in this subject as I'll be doing my next cycle in the UK and I know my new RE sends the biopsies to Oxford for CGH testing. I just never heard of doing genomic sequencing in this setting... That's one more question for my new RE

Thanks for the article!

Mister D and I were both surprised at how "groundbreaking" the article was essentially calling PGS. But it did say that in the UK doctors can't screen embryos unless it's a dire issus, so maybe it's news to the Brits... I don't know. There are I'm sure hundreds, if not thousands of babies in the US who've had the same testing as this couple. The article is goony in supposing that this is new. 

The whole genome thing is too much, and will likely be too much for a long time in the eyes of many. Firstly, anyone who wants a "designer baby" would need to have the $$, the time and the desire to do IVF in the first place, which is a big hurdle. Secondly, we're far from understanding where every single piece/part of diseases live on each genetic sequence, let alone where controls for height and physical beauty live within the sequence. Thirdly, it veers close to cloning/eugenics and I suspect they'll initiate similar laws against it before or at least as it becomes possible.

I also found odd when they said you can't screen embryos in the UK unless there's a serious genetic problem. A friend of mine who suffered RPL was at the same clinic where I'll be going and she just told me they did CGH on the embies to avoid further losses. Maybe they meant doing PGD with genetic sequencing is only allowed for very specific genetic diseases that severely impair survival or life quality like CF... 

Yes, the main complete trisomies (besides 21), are incompatible with life, so are all the complete monosomies (besides Turner syndrome) maybe that's what they tested for. Essentially the same thing we had done. Not sure about how the UK handles CF or Fragile X etc...