UK Couples Exploiting IVF Loophole to Screen Embryos for Intelligence and Height
In a growing controversy, couples in the UK are using a loophole in fertility treatment regulations to have their embryos screened for intelligence and height before implantation. The technique, known as polygenic embryo screening or PGT-P, has sparked debate among scientists and regulators over its accuracy, ethics, and potential benefits.
Currently, fertility clinics in the UK can only perform genetic tests on embryos for serious health conditions, such as Huntington's disease and sickle-cell anemia. However, as genetic sequencing technology advances, some companies are now offering commercial health prediction services using polygenic screening. These services claim to provide predictive scores for traits like IQ, height, and even physical characteristics.
While the idea of giving prospective parents more insight into their embryo's potential may seem appealing, scientists caution that these predictions are highly speculative and unreliable. The genetic component of complex traits like intelligence is spread across thousands of genes, making it difficult to accurately predict an individual's likelihood of developing a particular condition.
"Polygenic scores are typically very crude and only capture a tiny fraction of the heritable component of complex traits like IQ," said Dr. Frances Flinter, a member of the UK's fertility treatment regulator HFEA. "We're concerned that this technology is being prematurely adopted without sufficient validation."
The use of PGT-P in IVF has also raised concerns about its potential misuse and the lack of regulation around these services. In some cases, patients are accessing their own genetic data through GDPR, which allows them to access information about their medical history, including embryo data.
To date, there have been few rigorous studies on the accuracy and effectiveness of PGT-P in IVF. While some companies claim that their services can provide accurate predictions, others acknowledge that these predictions are probabilistic and should not be taken as certainty.
As the debate around PGT-P continues, regulators and scientists urge caution when considering this technology. While it may offer some benefits for prospective parents, the lack of clarity on its accuracy and ethics raises serious concerns about its potential misuse and exploitation.
In a growing controversy, couples in the UK are using a loophole in fertility treatment regulations to have their embryos screened for intelligence and height before implantation. The technique, known as polygenic embryo screening or PGT-P, has sparked debate among scientists and regulators over its accuracy, ethics, and potential benefits.
Currently, fertility clinics in the UK can only perform genetic tests on embryos for serious health conditions, such as Huntington's disease and sickle-cell anemia. However, as genetic sequencing technology advances, some companies are now offering commercial health prediction services using polygenic screening. These services claim to provide predictive scores for traits like IQ, height, and even physical characteristics.
While the idea of giving prospective parents more insight into their embryo's potential may seem appealing, scientists caution that these predictions are highly speculative and unreliable. The genetic component of complex traits like intelligence is spread across thousands of genes, making it difficult to accurately predict an individual's likelihood of developing a particular condition.
"Polygenic scores are typically very crude and only capture a tiny fraction of the heritable component of complex traits like IQ," said Dr. Frances Flinter, a member of the UK's fertility treatment regulator HFEA. "We're concerned that this technology is being prematurely adopted without sufficient validation."
The use of PGT-P in IVF has also raised concerns about its potential misuse and the lack of regulation around these services. In some cases, patients are accessing their own genetic data through GDPR, which allows them to access information about their medical history, including embryo data.
To date, there have been few rigorous studies on the accuracy and effectiveness of PGT-P in IVF. While some companies claim that their services can provide accurate predictions, others acknowledge that these predictions are probabilistic and should not be taken as certainty.
As the debate around PGT-P continues, regulators and scientists urge caution when considering this technology. While it may offer some benefits for prospective parents, the lack of clarity on its accuracy and ethics raises serious concerns about its potential misuse and exploitation.
like, who wouldn't want to know if their kid is gonna be a genius or super tall? It's not like it's gonna affect their lives or anything... 
But seriously though, I think it's awesome that they're taking matters into their own hands and using this tech to make informed decisions about their families. The whole "it's too speculative" thing just seems like a bunch of scientists being safe-havers 
. And let's be real, if these companies are making claims that their predictions are 100% accurate, then they should be able to back it up with some solid research 
. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? 
. I MEAN, WHAT IF YOU DON'T WANT A TALL KID OR ONE WITH HIGH INTELLIGENCE? DOES THAT MEAN THEY GET LEFT BEHIND? AND WHAT ABOUT THE GENES THAT ARENT EVEN ACCOUNTED FOR HERE?! IT'S LIKE TRYING TO PREPARE A PERFECT GARDEN WITHOUT KNOWING ALL THE SECRETS OF NATURE 
. I GUESS SOME PARENTS MIGHT WANT THIS KIND OF CONTROL, BUT FOR ME, IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE PLAYING GOD AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING TO TAKE LIGHTLY 
like what's the point? anywayz i think it's wild that ppl r usin this tech to find out if their kid's gonna be tall or not... sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie 
like, who's really that invested in their kid's height 
and also idk about these "polygenic scores" sound super sketchy 
i mean, how accurate r they supposed 2 b? 1% chance of accuracy? not cool 
? But come on, we're not even talking about predicting actual genius levels here, just some arbitrary score that's like "you might be smart-ish" 
. I mean, what if these predictions are used to discriminate against people or something? That's just a whole other can of worms.
. Let's take it one step at a time, shall we?
i mean we already know genetics is complex and stuff but still wanna play with fire here 
at least they're trying to give parents more info tho 
but like dr flinter said polygenic scores r super cruddy 
cant even rely on them rn 
what if ppl start using this tech 2 judge their own kids b4 they even exist 
its just too much fam 
. are we too focused on control and certainty? can't we just chill for a sec and see where life takes us? it's crazy to me that people are so worked up over some predicted scores when there's so much more to life than just numbers 
It's like they're trying to upgrade the whole concept of parenting by paying for a crystal ball. Newsflash: no tech can predict everything about your kid. And even if it could, would it really change anything? I don't think so. This just feels like a bunch of wealthy people getting ahead of the game while the rest of us are still trying to figure out how to make ends meet 
... these companies just want to sell us stuff we don't really need or fully understand. It's like they're playing God, and that freaks me out. I mean, we already have enough info about our genetics without some company trying to predict our kids' heights and IQs. It's all just so... uncertain 
. And who knows, maybe it'll lead to some amazing breakthroughs in understanding human genetics! 
. It's all a bit of a gray area, but I'm curious to see how this whole thing plays out in the future 
#GeneticsIsHard
. And what about the ethics of playing God with embryo data? It's already wild enough when we're talking about IVF, but adding this extra layer of uncertainty is just too much for me 
we need to get our facts straight before we start handing out 'certainties' that are basically just probabilities in a nice box.