Fears test could lead to ‘designer babies’
Couples from the South, who wish to avail of the service, can self-refer to either Randox Health at the MediSpa, Culloden Hotel, Co Down, or to Randox Health, Crumlin in Co Antrim.
Playing down concerns that the test could lead to the creation of “designer babies”, Randox Health managing director Dr Peter FitzGerald said it was “about ensuring new lives have the healthiest outlook possible”.
The test, designed by British biotech firm Randox, in partnership with Spanish company iGenomix, costs £900 (€1,240) and screens for conditions such as cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, sickle cell anaemia, haemophilia, Fragile-X syndrome and polycystic kidney disease, but does not cover diseases of complex inheritance such as autism, asthma and diabetes.
The test is clinically validated, with results back in 30 days.
Christina Iranzo, director of iGenomix, said its objective was to “significantly reduce the risk of couples... having a child with any type of genetic disease”.
He said the pre-pregnancy genetic carrier test (CGT) enabled multiple genes or mutations to be analysed simultaneously and cost-effectively. “For the first time it is possible to set up screening programmes for a large number of monogenic diseases or serious diseases caused by the alteration of a gene.
“In this way, we are able to prevent a disease from appearing, both in children conceived naturally and those conceived through assisted reproduction techniques, which is a fantastic development,” Mr Iranzo said.
The purpose of carrier screening is to identify couples at risk of passing on genetic conditions to their offspring.
It is common for healthy adults to carry between 2-3 recessive genetic alterations and if both parents are carriers of the same genetic mutation, it can result in their children being born with serious genetic conditions.
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