Ethical Issues in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis in Portugal: a comparative analysis of professional’s opinions in years 2000 and 2010 using questionnaires

Oliva Teles, Natália

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/597

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Eur J Hum Genet, Vol. 19, Suppl. 2, p. 66..pdf		220.28 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

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Authors

Oliva Teles, Natália

Abstract(s)

Medical genetics has made significant progress in the last decades, especially in the field of prenatal testing. After the dramatic expansion of prenatal diagnosis that started in the seventies, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) became a reality in 1990, following advances in the techniques of medically assisted reproduction (MAR). Ethical problems related to this technique start well before the analysis: it is necessary to offer appropriate genetic counselling, to obtain informed consent for the necessary procedures and to maintain strict confidentiality of the whole process. The main ethical problems concern the status of the embryo, the investigation and the manipulation of embryos, eugenic or sex selection and the provision of resources. In 2000 a questionnaire addressing several of the principal ethical concerns, namely the attitude towards PGD, embryos and genetic testing, was distributed to the Directors of the five largest MAR centres in Portugal; in 2010 the same questionnaire was sent to 27 MAR centres and answered by 11. In all cases it was required that the answers should be based on the general policy of each centre. This work presents the comparative analysis of all the obtained data, particularly focusing on the main ethical problems related to this diagnosis, i.e., the status of the human embryo and the attitude of the genetic professionals working in this still relatively new, and very specific, field of genetic diagnosis.