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Fertility agencies offering embryo selection for IVF and surrogacy have been accused of promoting eugenics and misleading consumers about the power of genetic screening.
Some American clinics claim they can “rank” embryos for IVF using Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Polygenic risk (PGT-P), a genetic screening system which is illegal in the UK. They claim this process can detect the likelihood of an embryo later developing conditions such as schizophrenia and breast cancer.
An analysis published in Nature, the medical journal, found that this new method, used by the clinics to sell fertility services, “is not sufficiently effective or robust for embryo selection”. The study also warned that PGT-P “may be used eugenically to sort out the value of embryos along with any desirable traits for consumers”.
PGT-P testing can cost anywhere between $2,000 and $6,000, on top of the price of IVF and associated costs, which can already run into the tens of thousands. The global fertility business is estimated to be worth more than $34 billion, and is set to almost double in value over the next decade. The...