Rica Lode’s Personal Experience with PGD (Part 2)
In our continuing series on preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), Rica Lode tells us more about why she and her husband are seeking PGD for their children.
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I am in my 30s, born and bred in Malaysia. I’ve been married for a few years now with no children yet. I would never imagine one day how genetics would play a strong role in our lives. Genetics, bioethics has never been a part of my vocabulary before until I came across this term, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in the newspapers recently. It appears to be the latest “word” in the world due to “designer babies”. This procedure allows parents to select the gender of their baby effortlessly.
To me and my husband, it’s a God-send solution to our dilemma. Because this procedure ensures we would have a healthy child as it is able to detect genetic disorder. My husband have a genetic disorder condition known as Neurofibromatosis Type I, where benign tumours would grow externally and/ internally on the peripheral nerves. It is a gene mutation on chromosome 17. There’s no known cure. There’s a 50% chance this would passed onto our next of kin.
Thankfully, my husband has a mild form of NF, but this does not guarantee our next of kin would have a mild condition if he/she happens to inherit this genetic disorder. A few weeks ago, my eyes lit up when I read what PGD could offer. Based on the local newspaper, I did some research on this particular fertility centre in Malaysia and discovered that they are the first and only centre that offers this since 2004.
After doing some online research about this procedure from various countries, I discovered that PGD is able to detect NF type I. With some hope in my heart, I made an initial enquiry by email. Hearing no reply after a day or two, I decided to check out the centre in person. Unfortunately, I discovered that they do not have the expertise yet to detect the genetic disorder on chromosome 17. They could only do so at chromosome 13, 18 and so on. My next search would be for countries beyond Malaysia. The PGD option may have closed in my home country, but I would continue to explore my options beyond Malaysia. Let’s see whether Singapore or Australia offers this.
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PGD requires the use of in vitro fertilization techniques (IVF). Interestingly, a study of 81 women awaiting IVF found that most would rather have a child with physical, cognitive, or visual impairments than have no child at all.
“Women awaiting IVF appear to prefer the prospect of a chronic adverse birth outcome rather than childlessness,” the researchers said. “This is at odds with many clinicians’ perceptions of treatment success and explains the reluctance of some couples to accept single embryo transfer despite awareness of the risks of twin pregnancy.”
For more about IVF, take a look at Andrei Kirilenko’s documentary – TechnoStorks. Also, please vote in the poll on PGD to your right in the sidebar.
Rica will continue to share her personal story as new developments arise. Read Part 3.
Technorati Tags: neurofibromatosis, nf, pgd, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, genetics, genes, dna, disease, health, genetic testing, prenatal testing, personal story
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Genetics and Health is running a series written by “Rica Lode” who is sharing her family’s experience with preimplantation genetic diagnosis. To provide more information, this week’s genetics quiz question is: [...]
[...] Rica Lode is still looking for countries near Malaysia that can provide preimplantation genetics diagnosis for neurofibromatosis. If you’re new to this series, you may like to read Part 1 and Part 2 of her journey. [...]
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[...] This is a multi-part series featuring Rica Lode’s search for preimplantation genetic diagnosis. This week, Rica has some leads in Australia. Here are part 1, part 2, and part 3. Also don’t forget to vote in our PGD poll that’s to your right in the sidebar. [...]
[...] This is a multi-part series featuring Rica Lode’s search for preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Rica continues her search this week and talks about the online communities where she’s found information and support. To start at beginning of Rica’s story in her own words, here are part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. Also don’t forget to vote in our PGD poll that’s to your right in the sidebar. [...]
[...] This is a Genetics and Health exclusive multi-part series featuring Rica Lode’s search for preimplantation genetic diagnosis for neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Today, Rica shares her feelings about the journey so far with a poem. To start at beginning of Rica’s story in her own words, here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and Part 5. Also don’t forget to vote in our PGD poll that’s to your right in the sidebar. [...]
[...] This is a Genetics and Health exclusive multi-part series featuring Rica Lode’s search for preimplantation genetic diagnosis for neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). To start at the beginning of Rica’s story in her own words, here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, Part 5, and Part 6. [...]
[...] This is a Genetics and Health exclusive multi-part series featuring Rica Lode’s search for preimplantation genetic diagnosis for neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). To start at the beginning of Rica’s story in her own words, here are part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. Today, Rica talks more about the financial considerations of seeking PGD and also bids us farewell. [...]