Experts Caution against Genetic Embryo Testing because It is ‘Unproven and Unethical’
Forecasting the likelihood of complicated disorders in IVF-created embryos, genetic testing has been labeled “unproven” and “unethical” by experts.
According to officials from the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG), even though these tests are not accessible in the UK, they expect their availability to rise as technology advances.
There is presently no evidence that a method known as polygenic risk score (PRS) assessment can predict a child’s future risk of complex disorders like schizophrenia, type 2 diabetes, or breast cancer, according to a study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.
Geneticists urged for a societal debate regarding the potential future use of tests like these, such as selecting for attributes like height or IQ.
ESHG president Maurizio Genuardi, a professor of medical genetics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, stated that it’s a very promising topic in genetics and for the prevention of illness, but at the [current] level, it cannot be employed. In the absence of proof, this kind of picking traits does not lead to better or healthier children.
PRS seeks to combine the impacts of dozens or even millions of different genetic variations to estimate an individual’s risk of developing complex features or illnesses like cystic fibrosis or Down’s syndrome. Before they are implanted, embryos developed via IVF are analyzed.
The chair of the ESHG public and professional policy committee, Dr. Francesca Forzano, a consultant in clinical genetics at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust in London, said that:
“Many conditions are caused by a combination of genetics and environment, and PRSs are only able to capture parts of any of the relevant genetic component, which is itself likely to be highly complex and difficult to analyse.”
Private Clinics
As a result of this trend, private testing businesses are increasingly promoting these tests to potential parents as a method of choosing embryos with a reduced chance of illness in the future. According to Forzano and colleagues, such treatment has resulted in the birth of at least one kid.
Forzano claimed that scientists do not really understand what is occurring in each private clinic throughout Europe and other countries.
Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority should clarify such tests’ legal and regulatory status in the United Kingdom, said Progress Educational Trust (PET) director Sarah Norcross.
ASA and CMA should keep an eye on how and such tests are marketed to UK residents. PET is an organization that helps people with infertility, and genetic conditions make better choices. She stated:
“PET supports this clear and unequivocal warning to fertility patients not to waste their money on having embryos tested using polygenic risk scores. Even if – for the sake of argument, and despite a complete lack of clinical evidence – a polygenic risk score could meaningfully predict certain things about certain embryos, the sheer number of embryos that would be needed to make use of this test could not be achieved in a clinical setting. There are precious few embryos to choose from in a fertility treatment context, and so reasons for preferring one embryo over another must be grounded in clear evidence.”
ESHG also requested a public debate on how PRS should be used in the future to avoid stigmatizing or discriminating against specific medical issues.
According to Forzano, our society would consider testing which qualities to choose. Would this be ethical if we were to do so theoretically?
It is up to us to determine if this is suitable, ethical, and whether our society wants something like this.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.
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