Embryo Screening for Disease

The new screening test of embryos is to be applauded, as anything that can help to improve human life is generally welcomed.

On the other hand it is the tip of a very friendly iceberg, propelled by the dramatic improvement in testing methods, computing and diagnostic instruments.

As an example my granddaughter was diagnosed in utero with a serious hernia of the diaphragm. After a complicated operation at two days old, she is now a normal lively four-year-old. Thirty years ago, she could not have been diagnosed with this condition before birth and would have died.

Many other conditions can be detected directly after birth and others at a few years old. It is important for the health of the whole population, that we develop more tests and make them freely available, so that other illnesses, be they life-threatening or not are properly treated or managed successfully.