What is the controversy surrounding the first designer baby in the UK?

  • Thread starter Thread starter marcus
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Uk
AI Thread Summary
A British woman has made headlines as the first in the UK to conceive a "designer baby" through advanced genetic screening to prevent the inheritance of retinoblastoma, a hereditary eye cancer. Utilizing pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) during in-vitro fertilization (IVF), doctors tested embryos for the cancer gene and only implanted those that were unaffected. This case has sparked renewed debate over the ethical implications of PGD, particularly concerning the destruction of embryos that may be healthy but carry treatable conditions. The discussion also references cultural concerns, drawing parallels to the film "Gattaca," which explores themes of genetic selection and societal norms. Some participants question whether this is truly a novel development, noting that fertility clinics have been screening for certain inherited diseases for years.
marcus
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
Messages
24,753
Reaction score
794
First "Designer Baby" in UK

===quote===
May 13, 2006

A British woman has become the first in the country to conceive a "designer baby" selected specifically to avoid an inherited cancer, The Times said Saturday.

The woman, who was not identified, used controversial genetic screening technology to ensure she does not pass on to her child the condition retinoblastoma, an hereditary form of eye cancer from which she suffers.

Doctors tested embryos created by the woman and her partner using in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) methods for the cancer gene. Only unaffected embryos were implanted in her womb, the newspaper said.

It suggested the woman's pregnancy would increase controversy over the procedure -- pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) -- because critics say it involves destroying otherwise healthy embryos whose conditions are treatable...
==endquote==

http://www.physorg.com/news66717645.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Biology news on Phys.org
Hmm... Ever seen that movie GATTACA with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman? We are getting eerily close to that kind of technology.
 
hmmmm

could you possibly be a misfit in Our society? :bugeye:
 
Gattaca
Ctaatgt

Follow the white rabbit
 
Last edited:
"First"? Haven't fertility clinics been screening eggs and/or sperm for things like cycle-cell trait and other inheritted diseases for decades, now?

http://www.integramed.com/inmdweb/content/cons/preimplan.jsp
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...
Deadly cattle screwworm parasite found in US patient. What to know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/08/25/new-world-screwworm-human-case/85813010007/ Exclusive: U.S. confirms nation's first travel-associated human screwworm case connected to Central American outbreak https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-confirms-nations-first-travel-associated-human-screwworm-case-connected-2025-08-25/...
Back
Top