There is no guarantee of the perfect child.

Abstract

For couples t risk of having child with serious inherited disease, karyomapping could be the breakthrough they have been hoping for. But if we can obtain "genetic MoT" for n embryo, should we do so? How much information is enough? And who should have ccess to it? Let's make one thing clear. This is not the key to the door of "designer babies". Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) centres will not be under siege from couples desperate for perfect child. While in theory it may be possible to use karyomapping to choose child's genes, in reality practical limitations, good regulatory oversight nd parental common sense will ensure that we don't slide down that slippery slope. Producing enough embryos to choose an optimum combination of genes will be extremely difficult. But we will face new decisions bout the kinds of diseases for which we should be able to test. We will also need to decide whether it is ppropriate to test for more than one disease t time nd if it is cceptable to test for chronic but non-lethal diseases. If these choices exist, why shouldn't parents have the opportunity to have the best possible child? On the other hand, there is something distasteful bout selecting children to pre-determined specification - it seems to go against what is important about being parent.