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Screening embryos for genetic disorders

— Photo: AP

Britain’s first cloned human embryo in this file photo.

London: Here’s some good news for couples planning to go for IVF treatment — researchers have developed a test which can tell you whether your designer baby is at the risk of getting a genetic disease later in life. A team, led by Prof Alan Handyside, has come up with a method to screen embryos for any inherited genetic disorder, a breakthrough that will give prospective parents the choice of continuing with the artificial insemination. In fact, the process involves creating embryos by IVF and removing a single cell from each when they are two days old. The cells are tested using a method known as karyomapping before the embryo is implanted. According to the researchers, it can identify multiple genetic variations, so that doctors potentially can screen for combinations that together confer higher risks of diabetes or heart disease or cancer. The £1,500-test, described as a “genetic MoT” (Molecular Orbital Theory), can be available as early as next year in Britain if approval is granted, The Daily Telegraph reported. But the test is likely to raise ethical issues such as privacy and worries about the creation of designer babies. Prospective parents could be able to find out if their children were at risk of developing conditions such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease of breast cancer which could raise privacy issues. But a further benefit would be to improve the chances of pregnancy for those who are infertile by selecting embryos that stand the best chance of developing normally, according to the researchers. “We are still validating it, but it is going to be a revolution if it works out. It makes genetic screening very much more straightforward,” said Prof. Handyside, who led the team at Hammersmith Hospital in West London. — PTI

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