Egg screening

Privateer · 10 May 2008 at 14:47

It was on the news a few months ago.
i found loads of links on google about IVF, I need to know if eggs can be cleaned of other disease.

Doohickey · 10 May 2008 at 14:49

Other diseases such as...

Privateer · 10 May 2008 at 14:55

Doohickey said:
Other diseases such as...

Ok I have Ataxia, its very dominatly inherited, so any baby would have Ataxia, if the egg was cleaned how good would that be, they coul kill diseases doing that.

Doohickey · 10 May 2008 at 15:04

Privateer said:
Ok I have Ataxia, its very dominatly inherited, so any baby would have Ataxia, if the egg was cleaned how good would that be, they coul kill diseases doing that.

You mean genetically 'cleaning' the egg? I think that's also known as germ line gene therapy, which is illegal...

Currently you can only screen fertilised embryos - pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and pick a healthy one you want to keep, as such, and I think you can also screen sperm as well.

Monkey Puzzle · 10 May 2008 at 15:07

Privateer said:
I need to know if eggs can be cleaned of other disease.

They don't 'clean' the eggs; they need to extract DNA so they wouldn't be able to do that from a single cell without damaging it by current techniques. They test for known mutations from one of the 8 cells of 3-day-old embryoes, and then dispose of if it has the undesired genotype afaik.

Monkey Puzzle · 10 May 2008 at 15:11

What type of ataxia do you have? I presume it's hereditary rather than acquired - have you been genetically tested?

Privateer · 10 May 2008 at 15:31

Monkey Puzzle said:
What type of ataxia do you have? I presume it's hereditary rather than acquired - have you been genetically tested?

I have SCA 1, so my current kids 11 and 12 might have it, but the doctors will not do blood tests untill they are 16, I'm now divorced, any new mother would not have a child with me to avoid it being born with the Ataxia gene.

in our family we call it the scott disease, so far upto my sister and me every Scott got/has it.

Monkey Puzzle · 10 May 2008 at 15:50

You're probably best off asking your GP to refer you to a genetics clinic if you're not already seeing them, as they'll know what your options are and be able to give you advice.