IVF test for deformities raises legal concerns
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis is banned in Ireland but doctors in IVF clinics say they are not sure it is legal to give information about the service to their patients and do not do so for fear of prosecution.
The study found several hundred couples a year have the test carried out abroad, mainly in Belgium, usually after researching clinics on the internet. But since public funding was withdrawn two years ago, only those who can afford to travel and pay for it are able to have the test. It is carried out on a cell taken from the embryo three days after the egg is fertilised and before it is implanted in the womb.