Pre-Pregnancy Testing
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The Ethics of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
Couples with a family history of certain genetic diseases may now be able to ensure that their children will not inherit those disease-related genes—even before pregnancy begins. The technique, called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), is limited to potential parents who are using in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, eggs are removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilized with the man's sperm. The fertilized eggs are then transferred into the woman’s uterus.
In this video, you'll learn how doctors can use the PGD technique to test an IVF embryo's DNA to identify mutations that can lead to birth defects and more than 300 diseases, including sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and some cancers. But what might the consequence be if any couple could use PGD to screen for a wider set of traits? Click on the left to watch the video.
After watching the video, answer this question: Do you think scientists should use techniques like PGD to identify genes linked with more complex traits, such as height and obesity? Why or why not?
