Society has always been striving toward perfection, eager that one day our babies could be custom designed with superior genes that would allow scientists to create the ideal human being. It could be for things such as freedom from inherited diseases and disorders, or even enhancing characteristics as subliminal as physical appearance, intelligence, or athleticism. This yearn for perfection began to grow in 1978, when the first successful application of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in humans occurred. This occurrence led to the term ‘designer babies’. According to Oxford English Dictionary, designer babies refers to children whose genetics have been artificially selected or manipulated at the embryonic stage to exclude or produce certain traits
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Louise was the world's first designer baby to be conceived through IVF. This event helped open the doors to the first designer baby was born under screening test in 2000. Doctors used screening procedures to test the embryos of Lisa and Jack Nash. The doctors picked out the embryos that would be a precise cell match to their existing daughter Molly (Agar pg.1). Molly suffers from a genetic condition called Fanconi Anemia which causes a bone marrow deficiency. The embryo selected did not carry the disease and was a perfect tissue match. As a result, their healthy son Adam was born in August after Mrs. Nash had gone through four rounds of IVF cycles. Stem cells were then collected from Adams umbilical cord to be donated for his sister Molly to giver her the match she needed for her bone marrow transplant. Since Adams birth, many more couples have created their own designer baby to save their sick child or prevent their offspring from inheriting a certain genetic disease and help stop the disease from passing down their generation. Another case much like this took place in 2001, inside a hospital in Chicago. The child came from a long line of an early and deadly form of Alzheimer’s disease. To escape from living a life in constant worry of if or when the child would begin to show signs of the fatal disease, the mother of the baby went to the reproductive genetic …show more content…
For example, this procedure could lead to humans actually living longer because they were ‘designed’ with stronger genes. Designer baby technology, as it is now, can already manipulate genes, so that children are born without certain hereditary traits. Similarly, Practical Data Group (PGD) is currently being used to screen out embryos that are at risk of a genetic disease. This could possibly lead to the cure to the disease if the research is funded and followed through enough. According to the technology review board for IVF, this procedure is an important technique to aid in conception and avoid unwanted DNA mutations and faulty chromosomes (Ly pg.1). It is also known to increase the success rate of bearing a child as the egg is fertilized and then inserted into the womb, therefore advancing research towards infertility as well. PDG can be used to identify genetic defects and scan for known or faulty family chromosomes. This information can then be compared to the chromosomes to relatives, ensuring that if there is an unhealthy embryo, it can be found and eventually be destroyed. This technology will ensure that there is a greater chance for a healthier embryo being implanted which then leads to healthier babies, and healthier babies
Louise was the world's first designer baby to be conceived through IVF. This event helped open the doors to the first designer baby was born under screening test in 2000. Doctors used screening procedures to test the embryos of Lisa and Jack Nash. The doctors picked out the embryos that would be a precise cell match to their existing daughter Molly (Agar pg.1). Molly suffers from a genetic condition called Fanconi Anemia which causes a bone marrow deficiency. The embryo selected did not carry the disease and was a perfect tissue match. As a result, their healthy son Adam was born in August after Mrs. Nash had gone through four rounds of IVF cycles. Stem cells were then collected from Adams umbilical cord to be donated for his sister Molly to giver her the match she needed for her bone marrow transplant. Since Adams birth, many more couples have created their own designer baby to save their sick child or prevent their offspring from inheriting a certain genetic disease and help stop the disease from passing down their generation. Another case much like this took place in 2001, inside a hospital in Chicago. The child came from a long line of an early and deadly form of Alzheimer’s disease. To escape from living a life in constant worry of if or when the child would begin to show signs of the fatal disease, the mother of the baby went to the reproductive genetic …show more content…
For example, this procedure could lead to humans actually living longer because they were ‘designed’ with stronger genes. Designer baby technology, as it is now, can already manipulate genes, so that children are born without certain hereditary traits. Similarly, Practical Data Group (PGD) is currently being used to screen out embryos that are at risk of a genetic disease. This could possibly lead to the cure to the disease if the research is funded and followed through enough. According to the technology review board for IVF, this procedure is an important technique to aid in conception and avoid unwanted DNA mutations and faulty chromosomes (Ly pg.1). It is also known to increase the success rate of bearing a child as the egg is fertilized and then inserted into the womb, therefore advancing research towards infertility as well. PDG can be used to identify genetic defects and scan for known or faulty family chromosomes. This information can then be compared to the chromosomes to relatives, ensuring that if there is an unhealthy embryo, it can be found and eventually be destroyed. This technology will ensure that there is a greater chance for a healthier embryo being implanted which then leads to healthier babies, and healthier babies