\n<\/p>\n
Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.<\/p>\n
The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA, is not permitted at UK fertility clinics and critics have raised scientific and ethical objections, saying the method is unproven. But under data protection laws, patients can \u2013 and in some cases have \u2013 demanded their embryos\u2019 raw genetic data and sent it abroad for analysis in an effort to have smarter, healthier children.<\/p>\n
Dr Cristina Hickman, a senior embryologist and founder of Avenues fertility clinic in London, said rapid advances in embryo screening techniques and the recent launch of several US companies offering so-called polygenic screening had left clinics facing \u201clegal and ethical confusion\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis opens a whole can of worms,\u201d said Hickman, who raised the issue in a letter last month to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).<\/p>\n
One US company, Herasight, which charges couples $50,000 (\u00a337,000) to assess an unlimited number of embryos, confirmed that it had already worked with couples undergoing IVF at clinics in the UK. There is no suggestion Herasight is in breach of any regulations.<\/p>\n
Avenues currently has two patients who \u2013 without the clinic\u2019s involvement \u2013 intend to use Herasight\u2019s service. One, a 29-year-old woman, said she and her husband hoped to reduce the risk of diseases, such as diabetes, and to pick embryos with high predicted IQ.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are willing to spend loads of money and heartache to give their kids slightly better lives after they\u2019re born,\u201d said the patient, who wished to remain anonymous. \u201cThis seems the best bang for your buck; it\u2019s less per year than private school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herasight claims to deliver an average gain of six IQ points for a couple with five embryos and provides sex, predicted height and risk scores for conditions including heart disease, common cancers, Alzheimer\u2019s and schizophrenia. The patient, who has banked 16 embryos, said: \u201cI\u2019m hoping to have six where I\u2019m like: \u2018Wow, that\u2019s an excellent profile.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In the UK, tests performed on embryos are legally restricted to a list of serious health conditions, such as Huntington\u2019s, sickle cell disease or cystic fibrosis. Clinics cannot perform polygenic screening for the purpose of embryo selection. The HFEA also says a clinician should not be guided by a patient on which embryo to use based on that patient\u2019s knowledge of its scores.<\/p>\n
Peter Thompson, the chief executive of the HFEA, said polygenic testing was unlawful for use in the UK. \u201cLicensed 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, there is nothing to stop a UK-based couple seeking such testing, and indeed treatment, overseas, but a UK licensed clinic should not then make decisions on what embryo to put back using that information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some have questioned whether the HFEA\u2019s position is enforceable. Hickman said the clinic would not generally block a couple\u2019s request that a particular embryo is transferred, provided there was no conflict with medical safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a patient wants to have embryo number one transferred and the clinic says no, we want embryo number three, I cannot think that, if this were to go to a judge, they would say no, you have to transfer embryo number three,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather have [polygenic testing] allowed here and have the HFEA control how to do it ethically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herasight has built its algorithms using large genetic databases, including UK Biobank, and has published the scientific basis for its predictions. However, using polygenic scores in the context of embryo selection remains contentious and the European Society of Genetics has condemned the technique as \u201cunproven and unethical\u201d.<\/p>\n
There are also broader ethical concerns, including the potential for a stratified society where wealthier people pay to select the embryos they prefer and the prospect of normalising a belief that some individuals are genetically superior.<\/p>\n
Prof Angus Clarke, a clinical geneticist at Cardiff University, said: \u201cThese companies are dealing in murky science in an emotionally fraught context.\u201d He said some parents may find it hard to resist the promise of selecting the \u201cbest child possible rather than any old child\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s hope they\u2019re not disappointed,\u201d he added. \u201cIt might be difficult to live up to those expectations, if you\u2019re that child.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, Herasight said: \u201cWe can confirm that Herasight has been working with parents from across the globe, including families who have undergone IVF treatment in the UK, by transforming routine PGT-A data that parents have legally obtained and provided to us. This data can be accessed by clients under applicable data protection laws in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herasight said it did not work with, or provide data to, IVF clinics or influence them in the selection of embryos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned. The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA, is not permitted at UK fertility clinics and critics have raised scientific and ethical objections,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[16786,2811,6403,37,20274,4762,324,4279,434,3992],"class_list":{"0":"post-36236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-based","9":"tag-couples","10":"tag-embryos","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-height","13":"tag-ivf","14":"tag-legal","15":"tag-loophole","16":"tag-potential","17":"tag-rank"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}