DESIGNER BABY

A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been artificially selected or modified by genetic engineering. Adam Nash was the first-born designer baby. Before Adam Nash was born, the Nash’s daughter Molly was suffering from a life-threatening bone marrow deficiency and was in need of a bone marrow transplant. The bone marrow transplant donor must be one who did not carry the disease and was a perfect tissue match.

In 2000, for their second child, Adam, doctors used preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to artificially select the perfect embryo after in-vitro fertilization. After in vitro fertilization, an embryo begins to develop, and a biopsy is taken and tested for genetic abnormalities. After artificially selecting the desired embryo, the physicians implant the embryo into the mother. When Adam was born, he was able to donate stem cells collected from his umbilical cord to replace his sister’s bone marrow.

Sourcs:

 HEALTH | Baby created to save older sister. (2000, October 4). Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/954408.stm

Davidson, Michèle R. “Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., November 15, 2018.   https://www.britannica.com/science/preimplantation-genetic-diagnosis.

Test Tube Baby. Bioethicist Calls for Frank Discussion on Designer Babies. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, n.d.                      https://www.genengnews.com/news/bioethicist-calls-for-frank-discussion-on-designer-babies/.

A Single Cell Is Being Removed from the Embryo so It Can Be Sent off and Biopsied. . n.d. Overlake Reproductive Health.  https://fertileweb.com/all-about-pgd/.