Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves the removal and genetic analysis of one or two cells from embryos created through in vitro fertilization. Test results are then used to select embryos to transfer to a woman's womb to initiate a pregnancy. While PGD was originally developed to prevent transmission of serious diseases, recently it has been used to pick embryos based on sex or suitability as a tissue donor.
To measure public attitudes toward these uses of PGD and other reproductive genetic technologies, the Genetics and Public Policy Center, which is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, conducted a detailed survey of 4,005 Americans, by far the largest on the issue to date.
The survey showed that 61 percent approve of using PGD to select an embryo that could benefit an ailing sibling, while 33 percent disapprove of this use. In contrast, 57 percent of the respondents disapprove of using PGD to select embryos based on sex.
"There is strong support for using these technologies when there is a health benefit, even when that benefit is for another person, but this support coexists with deep-seated worries about where all these new technologies may be taking us," said Kathy Hudson, Ph.D., the founder and director of The Johns Hopkins University Genetics and Public Policy Center.
For example, 80 percent of respondents were concerned that if not regulated, reproductive genetics technologies such as PGD could "get out of control."
Some countries prohibit using PGD for sex selection or to choose embryos that will be suitable tissue donors unless
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Contact: Rhoda Washington
rwashi10@jhu.edu
202-663-5979
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
3-May-2004