Clinic aids parents who seek ‘designer baby’ to help save sick sibling. By Victoria Griffith in Boston.
In an article today by Victoria Griffith in Boston she talks about the report at the Journal of the American Medical Association – JAMA where Reproductive Genetics Institute – RGI presents their experience with 13 couples between 2002-2003 wanting to have a HLA compatible baby.
She said,
“Another five potential stem cell donors have been born around the world…. The couples are from Asia, the Middle East and South America as well as the UK and the US”.
Interesting…
And she also said,
“In the view of some critics, the fact that the babies mentioned in the journal report did not experience such a benefit (according to Griffith, none of the couples have done a bone marrow transplant procedure.) puts the science on a slippery slope. If embryos can be selected for stem cell matches then why not for trivial traits such as eye colour or height?”
PGD is very useful and a very good option for families that know about their genetic condition that causes serious health problems. In my opinion, its very important to know the genetic cause of a disease and more important to use that information to find options for a cure.
I guess that if all parents (that have an adequate age to have babies) with children that have a terminal disease are given this option, more than 80% would take it.
PGD is specially helpful for us because we could not find a compatible donor for Andy and bone marrow transplantation is the option we have today. The bone marrow transplant seems to be the only treatment that will allow him to live to be an adult.
I can’t imagine someone undergoing IVF and PGD looking for eye color or height… Seems to me that this procedure is too much for that. But there are people who request surgery just to look better, so I guess PGD would catch their attention and they would be willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby with blue eyes.
The solution to this problem would be to find a treatment that corrects the lack of intelligence of parents looking for a baby with a specific height or eye color.
Doctors should know… if they want to help someone who’s just looking for blue eyes…. PGD shouldn’t be used for that…
Now I know why Sofia is so beautiful!!