- Cystic Fibrosis
- Down Syndrome
- Huntington’s Disease
- Hemophilia
PGD is used for women who have had reoccurring miscarriages, infertility, and for people who have a history of disease in their families or already have a child with a disease (e.g. already have a child with a disease such as cystic fibrosis). The implementation of PGD has become a socio-scientific issue over the last few years as many people have begun to question whether or not it is ethical to discard an embryo that has tested positive for the disease. Some people view this as being unethical, as this embryo could still become a life, and destroying this embryo is essentially destroying a life. While others view this process as brilliant scientific technology that helps couples to have a healthy child, without the worry of a serious life threatening diseases/disorder. The issues of designer babies have also made this an ethical issue – designer babies are babies that have been genetically selected for certain genes/traits. This process means that certain traits are selected for or against; in some countries parent can select the sex of their baby – however this is illegal in New Zealand. The demand for this technology has arisen because people who are carriers for serious diseases wish to have a child, knowing that their child/children will live a life free of a certain disease. PROCESS OF IVF & PGD The process of PGD begins with In Vitro-Fertilization (IVF). A woman is given a drug (FSH) to hyper stimulate the ovaries to produce ‘super ovulation’ – in which many eggs are produced and collected. The collected eggs are then placed into a dish and are fertilized by sperm; on day three of embryo cultivation each embryo has divided into the eight-cell level. The embryo will continue to develop until around about day five when the embryo is in the blastocyst stage, the Trophectoderm cells are removed, a small hole is then made in the outer layer of the embryo (Zona Pellucida), cells are then removed and frozen, to be sent away to a PGD laboratory for analysis. There are a few different ways that an embryo can be tested. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is used to make multiple copies of a gene that may have a disease (e.g. cystic fibrosis) through amplification – this amplification process uses fluorescent markers to detect the presence or absence of a gene. Unaffected embryos are frozen and transferred back to a fertility clinic, where it will be used in IVF. PCR is more commonly used for gene level problems, rather than chromosome issues. Fluorescent is situ Hybridisation (FISH) is the process, which counts the number of chromosomes in a lone cell – this process, is mainly used to detect chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. In both these processes the cells that test negative for a disease/disorder will be transferred back into the mother - while the …show more content…
This can add to the emotional stress if a reoccurring a
- There is a chance that all the embryos tested carry a genetic abnormality, and therefore none of the embryos are viable to use.
- PGD is only 95% accurate; therefore an embryo can be used in IVF and still end up carrying a disease/disorders.
- The chance of successful implantation occurring in women aged over the mid thirties is extremely lower, compared with younger women.
- PGD only screens for certain diseases/disorders, it is possible that an embryo can have other genetic abnormalities present.
- One round of IVF costs $12,000 – the government will only fund two free rounds of IVF. The two free rounds of government funded IVF is only awarded are the couples meet the particular health related requirements.
- There is extreme mental/emotional stress placed upon the couple, even more so when embryos results come back to be unviable.
- The emotional toll of having multiple negative results, along with the added stress of costs; can result in an extremely fragile relationship between the couple.
DIFFERING