Ethical review on preimplanation genetic diagnosis (PGD) Essay

Ethical review on preimplanation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - Essay Example hemophilia or cystic fibrosis). The procedure of PGD involves the following steps. It is usually performed after a woman’s eggs have been harvested and fertilized by her partner’s sperm but before the fertilized eggs have been transferred back to her uterus. When the fertilized egg has multiplied to four and 10-cell development stage, one or two cells known as blastomeres are gently removed from each embryo. This is usually done using a microsurgery technique similar to that used in ICSI. The DNA from the removed blastomeres is then studied for any genetic diseases or disorders. If any are found to be having diseases or disorders, then those embryos are destroyed. Only those healthy embryos with no diseased genes will be transferred back to the mother. PGD has helped to diagnose numerous diseases and disorders classified as either chromosomal disorders, single gene defects or sex-linked disorders. The science of PGD has advanced so much that specific chromosomes are tested for specific disorders, for example Chromosome 13 is analysed for Breast and ovarian cancers, deafness, Wilson Disease; Chromosome 15 for Marfan Syndrome, Tay-Sachs Disease; Chromosome 16 for Polycystic kidney disease, Alpha thalassemia; Chromosome 17 for Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease; Chromosome 18 for Niemann-Pick Disease, pancreatic cancer; Chromosome 21 for Downs Syndrome; Chromosome X for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Turners Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome; and Chromosome Y for Acute myeloidleukemia (Pregnancy-Info.net. 2005). The purpose of this paper is to explain current and likely future uses of PGD, and provide a complete review on the ethical issues on PGD. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a common topic for debate as it is the technique by which early human embryos are genetically screened and then discarded or placed in the uterus. Reports that embryos are being screened for new indications such as