Controversial Genetics Test

I actually don't have a problem with this if it is just to help the parents prepare for a baby who may have difficulties. I would imagine the controversy comes in when parents do in vitro just to make sure they are getting a healthy baby. I wouldn't have a problem with that if the genetic testing could be determined before the embryo is formed. Obviously that is not how in vitro works though. I can see why a lot of people would be upset by this test. I don't want to judge the parents who decide to use it. Maybe they have determined it is best for their family.

FROM CNN: A simple new test raising complicated issues. A California company is promising parents-to-be a look into the future -- to see if their children would be at risk for more than 100 different diseases. But after the test.. what do you do?

They are eager to start a family. Ally Zwahlen and her husband Steve are both in good health. But are they at risk of having children with a rare, inherited disease? The answers could come from this bold, new form of genetic screening. Ally Zwhalen: "I'm confident that it's going to alleviate a lot of uncertainties, and provide peace of mind."

Some doctors are unabashedly "gushing" about the new test. Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh from John Muir Health Systems: "I'm very enthusiastic about it, I tell all my friends about it. You know, my girlfriends who are getting married right now and who are planning a pregnancy? I tell them: 'before you get pregnant, do this test'. " Unlike "traditional" genetic tests that require a blood sample to help carriers of find one specific disease, the new test uses a little saliva to look for genetic markers linked to 109 inherited diseases from Cystic Fibrosis and Pompe Disease to sickle cell and Tay-Sachs disease.

Ramji Srinivadsan: "We are looking for mutations that parents unknowingly carry ... before today, it had never been easy, convenient and reliable to get a pre-pregnancy test at home. "For $350, the samples are analyzed at this lab near San Francisco; screened, simultaneously, for more than 400 genetic mutations with the results available in less than a week. If both husband and wife test positive for the same disease, there are steps they can then take... including invitro fertilization where doctors could check each embryo and implant only those that appear free of the specific disease.

We contacted many geneticists. While excited about the new test they do urge caution. Dr. Priya Kishnani from Duke Univ. Med. Center:"This new genetic test is an important first step. However the jury is still out on whether it can deliver everything it promises." More such tests are now likely to follow-- offering families a greater chance for a healthy baby.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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