University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Abstract: A novel method of preimplantation genetic testing, polygenic embryo screening (PES) allows embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) to be tested for their risk of developing complex conditions caused by multiple genes. While PGT has for decades been utilized to test for monogenic conditions (genetic disorders caused by a single genetic mutation), the application of PES represents the possibility to generate risk scores for numerous new kinds of conditions, including various cancers, asthma, diabetes, schizophrenia, and more.
Clinical application of this technology is highly controversial among bioethicists and clinicians. Nevertheless, the largely industry-led regulation of IVF has allowed genetic testing companies to offer PES to IVF patients. Studies have examined how IVF physicians, patients, and the public conceptualize the clinical application of PES. This paper presentation examines how genetics professionals who conduct research in the realm of polygenic conditions consider the ethical stakes of PES. Through qualitative interviews with genetics researchers, genetic counselors, and researcher-physicians, I will reveal how these stakeholders conceptualize the translation of genetics research to this clinical practice. This paper thus offers an important new perspective on the ethics of a highly contested technology. In doing so, it aims to shed insights onto the relationship between genetics research and clinical practice and to inform the ethical usage of this emerging practice.
Keywords: Polygenic risk, Genetic testing, IVF
Learning Objectives:
After participating in this conference, attendees should be able to:
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to describe the current debate surrounding the usage of polygenic embryo screening in the United States.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to evaluate the ethical challenges surrounding the use of PES through the key principles of bioethics.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to identify how genetics professionals (including researchers, physicians, and counselors) conceptualize the ethics of PES in clinical practice.
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