Imagine walking into a fertility counselor or a genetic counselor and being asked, “What color would you like your baby’s eyes to be?” or “Would you like your child to be of moderate height, or taller?” With technologies like in vitro fertilization and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, those questions are not out of the realm of possibilities. They have given rise to the concept of “designer babies” in that parents and couples in the process of having a child through in vitro fertilization may be able to do just that: design their own baby.
“The term “designer baby” refers to a baby that has been created to meet specific genetic criteria. It is not a scientific term, but one coined by the media to designate a baby “designed” to carry or not carry certain traits.”
-Gina Hagler
The Drawing Board Process
Designing a baby, if you wish to do so, is really only possible through a process called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Furthermore, PGD is really only possible with women or couples undergoing in vitro fertilization, or IVF. The entire process from isolating sperm and eggs to implanting the fertilized egg back into the women’s body is as follows:
- Eggs are collected from a women’s body The designer baby process.
- In a laboratory, the eggs are fertilized with sperm (either from a donor or from the woman’s male partner)
- The fertilized eggs are allowed to grow into embryos
- After 3 three days, a biopsy of the embryo may be taken in order to perform necessary or desired genetic testing (PGD)
- Only the “embryo(s) of of the best quality,” meaning the embryos that do not contain the gene that codes for the unwanted trait or disorder, are allowed to persist. Those embryos are the ones that are inserted into the uterus.
The genetic tests usually done with PGD involve either testing for a genetic disorder that can be inherited by the baby from the parents or testing to determine if the embryo’s DNA contains the right amount of chromosomes.
Limits to Designing
As of right now, those are the only types of tests that are being performed. However, as simple as it is to test for inheritable diseases, it is just as easy to look for genes that will give the baby blue eyes, or blonde hair. An article from Scientific American states that a study found that at least 10 % of a surveyed group who had genetic counseling done would have liked to have their baby tested for “tall stature” or “superior intelligence”. The article mentions that in the UK, there are rules governing in vitro fertilization/embryo manipulation. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has guidelines put in place to control the amount of embryos that may be implanted and prohibits the choosing of traits other than sex of the child for necessary medical reasons. How strict this organization is, however, is not always consistent.
First Designer Baby: One of a kind, very limited edition
Adam Nash is considered to be the first designer baby/”savior sibling” to have been born in the United States. His birth did not come about after choosing of height, intelligence, or eye color, but instead, after choosing the necessary genes and traits so that he could be used as a bone marrow donor for his ailing sister. Through in vitro fertilization and PGD, Nash’s parents chose an embryo that did not contain the gene which codes for Fanconi Anemia, a rare blood disease that has the potential to lead to leukemia and malfunctioning of the body itself. Adam’s cord blood was saved when he was born, and then given to his sister. The process was successful; one life was saved due to the creation of another.
To Design or Not to Design
As it may already be evident, the entire concept of a designer baby has long been a topic of debate for obvious reasons. Is Recent poll about designer babies. choosing one embryo over another because it has the genes for blue eyes really something that should be acceptable? Or is designing and having another child solely for the sake of ailing child the ethical thing to do? These and many other questions are of constant discussion. Generally, people tend to view the designing process as positive when it comes to medical purposes, but not so much when it involves superficial or physical characteristics. I would have to agree personally, that if absolutely necessary for medicinal purposes, then genetically designing a baby would be permissible
biotechnology and society 