New Company Practices Virtual Eugenics

[Valin]

Reason:

GenePeeks aids parents in their quest for healthier babies by reducing the odds of structural or genetic birth defects.

Ronald Bailey

October 24, 2014

 

Childbearing is a lottery. The good news is that most babies are winners who are born without major structural or genetic birth defects. But wouldn't it be good to stack the odds further in favor of having a healthy baby?

 

That's the aim of the new genetic testing company GenePeeks. Co-founded by the Princeton geneticist Lee Silver and the Harvard Business School professor Anne Morriss, GenePeeks and its Matchright service pair women wanting to use donated sperm with donors whose genes, when combined with theirs, are more likely to produce a healthy child.

 

Morriss has a particular personal interest in the technology. Morriss and her wife Frances Frei decided six years ago to have a child using the services of a reputable sperm bank. They pored over the profiles of potential donors and selected one; nine months later, Morriss gave birth to their son Alec. A routine infant screening test found that Alec had been born with a rare (1 in 17,000) genetic disorder, medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency, that blocks him from converting certain fats into energy. To prevent seizures and sudden death, he would need to be fed every few hours.

 

(Snip)