What is Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) ...further discussion...


PGD  involves fertilizing the egg with sperm and testing the embryos to confirm if they are free of Sickle Cell..or any other genetic condition.
If they are free of Sickle Cell, they are inserted into the mother's womb, but if they are Sickle Cell positive, the embryos are disposed....
Part of 1 discussion here (http://www.myectopicandbeyond.com/2016/01/what-is-pre-genetic-diagnosis-and-why.html)
Some people regard the disposing of affected embryos as equal to having an ABORTION!!!...Is this a fair conclusion?
Is it better to bring children to this world knowing they could be exposed to undue suffering??? And if we take matters into our own hands to terminate if possible, Are we Playing GOD????
It may be easy to state that couples that know they have AS genotype should just not get married or should not procreate together....But what about people with an inheritable condition and want to avoid passing it on to their children??? 
Conditions such as:

* Cystic Fibrosis
* Epilepsy, female restricted, with mental retardation (EFMR)
* Huntington Disease (Huntington Chorea)
* Tay Sachs Disease (infantile onset)
* Tuberous Sclerosis (TSC1 and TSC2)
* Schwannomatosis
* Neurofibromatosis 1
* Neurofibromatosis 2
and many other genetic conditions that people in Nigeria and other parts of the world are living with and struggling with.....
Some people have suggested that affected couples should either not have children or to adopt if they want to raise children.. Is this a fair conclusion???
  **** What if people have lived most of their life with difficulty because of a medical condition, perhaps they have been bullied for years because of physical deformities (example in cases of Neurofibromatosis 2 or Schwannomatosis)......?
  
****What if people have spent most of their lives having one operation or the other, or having to take several medications daily.......When they meet a life partner and want to have children, should their options be either to adopt or not have children?

One of the most painful experiences a parent can endure is delivering a child that suffers from a debilitating and devastating genetic disorder. Many parents that have children with serious genetic disorder will tell you how emotionally and physically exhausting it is for them....This is not to mention how difficult it may be for the children affected by the disorders...
Is opting to do PGD a bad choice? There will always be people that agree and disagree with PGD based on their personal beliefs. Some people like myself will always debate the best option in my head daily..
Luckily for me and my spouse, we both carry the AA genotype and do not have to worry about possibility of having a child with Sickle Cell...
However, we do have another genetic condition that we have a 50% chance of passing on to our children....The daily mind debates are if to opt for PGD and eliminate any embryos that have the genetic condition....OR to adopt...OR opt to have "faith" that the 50% chance will not affect all our children and that all children we have will not have the genetic condition.

Now the discussion of having faith is for another day...I am a christian and therefore the faith subject is always a factor...however, there are other factors to consider......and it is not an easy decision....


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