simone
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 Posted: 06/23/06 - 19:18 Post subject: Parents may screen embryos for genetic disorders |
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So far, parents who underwent IV fertilization could only detect about 200 possible genetic disorders by testing embryos. A new method that was developed recently, called pre-implantation genetic haplotyping (PGH), allows parents to detect about 6,000 genetic diseases and decide whether they would keep the babies at risk or not.
The new method may be beneficial as it would certainly lead to little less misery in the world. Some of the diseases that could be detected and avoided are cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and muscular dystrophy.
PGH works by selecting just one cell from an embryo and reproducing it million times. From the clusters of cells, doctors are able to tell if this cell carries the genetic disorder or not. It would be even possible to say which embryo carries the disease and which is at risk of suffering from the disease throughout life.
The PGH method is invented by Ali al-Hellani, fertility specialist from Saudi Arabia.
This newly developed method carries a lot of dilemmas, especially ethical dilemmas about the possibility of choosing the embryos as well as the child’s gender. |
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