March 28, 2024

Pregnant mum refuses to make “designer baby”, despite risks

2 kids with cystic fibrosis, and maybe one more on the way
Nicky and Steven Mason with their sons Cameron and Fraser (Sun)A pregnant
Scottish mother of two young boys, Nicky Mason, has decided against using preimplantation genetic diagnosis
to screen her third child, despite the risk that the child will develop a
serious genetic disease. Mason’s two young sons suffer from cystic fibrosis, a
genetic condition affecting the internal organs. The disease requires daily
treatment, and sufferers face the added possibility of a lung transplant later
in life.

Despite
improvements in cystic fibrosis treatments, which have lengthened the life
expectancy of sufferers, most will not live past 38.

Ms Mason is now
seven months pregnant with a third child, who faces a one in four chance of inheriting the
condition. She and her husband investigated embryo screening to avoid the birth
of an unhealthy baby. After consulting with doctors, Nicky and her husband
Steven decided to let nature take its course.

“People have
said I’m selfish and that I’m taking a risk with my baby’s life. It wasn’t a
religious thing, but the thought of our baby being in a test tube before being
in my womb was something I didn’t agree with. It all just seemed so unnatural.”
She and her husband are willing to deal with the disease if the third child
suffers from it. “We have coped with having two children with cystic
fibrosis and if our third child also has the condition, we will cope with that
too,” she says.  ~ (London) Sun 22 Apr

 



Jared Yee
embryo screening
human drama
IVF
PGD