Editorial on Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (Pgd)

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Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis—Changing the Future Imagine a world free of genetic disease. No man or woman would have to suffer any longer or worry about passing on his or her disease to his or her child. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or PGD can provide this future. PGD is a reproductive technique that was developed for couples at risk of having a child with significant genetic variation known to be associated with genetic disease. It uses the same process of In Vitro Fertilization to develop embryos. An egg is extracted from the female and then fertilized with the desired sperm outside of the women’s womb. While the embryo is growing over about a three-day period and going through the three different embryo development stages, a sample is removed and tested for genetic diseases and analyzed for chromosome abnormalities. Then a healthy embryo is implanted into the women’s uterus. There is a lot of controversy over the uses of PGD, and it has been banned in several countries because some people believe it is unethical and “playing god.” PGD does not genetically alter embryos in any way. It simply tests the embryos for a genetic disease and then with the results, a healthy embryo is implanted and the rest are donated to research, or destroyed. In no way is it creating or changing anyone. The healthy embryo that is implanted is still one of the parent’s children. The parents simply chose not to develop their other unhealthy embryos. The use of PGD to prevent genetic diseases is in no way unethical and should be available for anyone to use to prevent a disease in their children. It can be very difficult to take care of someone with a genetic disorder. Not only is it is very time consuming and expensive, but there can be a lot of emotional strain on the family. The family has to live with the fact that they gave their child this disease and they have to
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