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Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.
The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA, is not permitted at UK fertility clinics and critics have raised scientific and ethical objections, saying the method is unproven. But under data protection laws, patients can – and in some cases have – demanded their embryos’ raw genetic data and sent it abroad for analysis in an effort to have smarter, healthier children.
One US company, Herasight, which charges couples $50,000 (£37,000) to assess an unlimited number of embryos, confirmed that it had already worked with couples undergoing IVF at clinics in the UK.
In the UK, tests performed on embryos are legally restricted to a list of serious health conditions, such as Huntington’s, sickle cell disease or cystic fibrosis. Clinics cannot perform polygenic screening for the purpose of embryo selection. The HFEA also says a clinician should not be guided by a patient on which embryo to use based on that patient’s knowledge of its scores.
[U]sing polygenic scores in the context of embryo selection remains contentious and the European Society of Genetics has condemned the technique as “unproven and unethical”.
There are also broader ethical concerns, including the potential for a stratified society where wealthier people pay to select the embryos they prefer and the prospect of normalising a belief that some individuals are genetically superior.