According to the recent development, couples in the UK are reportedly utilizing a legal loophole to rank their embryos based on polygenic screening predictions for complex traits of IQ, height and health.
As reported by The Guardian, the prime motive is to select embryos based on their DNA.
However, this practice is not authorized at UK fertility clinics, and concerns are arising that the method is unproven.
Patients in some cases have demanded their embryo’s raw genetic data and sent it globally for further analysis.
Herasight, one US company, has primarily charged couples $50,000 (£37,000) to scrutinize an unlimited number of embryos.
The company confirmed that it had already worked effectively with couples undergoing IVF in the UK.
On the contrary, Avenues has two patients who sought to use Heraight’s service without the clinic’s involvement.
A 29-year-old woman was quite hopeful to mitigate the risk of diseases, such as diabetes, and to pick embryos with high predicted IQ.
According to one patient, people are willing to spend loads of money and heartache to give their kids slightly better lives after they’re born.
The tests performed on embryos are restricted to a list of serious health conditions, such as Huntington’s disease, sickle cell disease, and cystic fibrosis.
It has been observed that clinics cannot perform polygenic screening for the purpose of embryo selection.
According to the chief executive of the HFEA, polygenic testing was unlawful for use in the UK.
He further said, “Licensed clinics in the UK are responsible for selecting embryos based on what is permitted in the HFE Act and therefore should not offer such testing and subsequent treatment.”
There is nothing to stop a UK-based couple efficiently moving towards such testing and treatment, but a UK licensed clinic should not make specific decisions on what embryo to put back using that information.
At this point, there are more moral dilemmas, including the potential for a hierarchical society where wealthier people pay to select the embryos they prefer and the prospect of standardizing the belief that some individuals are genetically superior.
In addition, Herasight in a statement has confirmed that it has been working with patients internationally, including families who have undergone IVF treatment in the UK.
The company is able to do this by revolutionizing routine PGT-A data that parents have legitimated and provided, which clients can use under data protection laws in the UK, Europe, and across the world.
