RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Concerns about the use of polygenic embryo screening for psychiatric and cognitive traits
Lencz, T., Sabatello, M., Docherty, A., Peterson, R. E., Soda, T., Austin, J., Bierut, L., Crepaz-Keay, D., Curtis, D., Degenhardt, F., Huckins, L., Lazaro-Munoz, G., Mattheisen, M., Meiser, B., Peay, H., Rietschel, M., Walss-Bass, C., & Davis, L. K. (2022). Concerns about the use of polygenic embryo screening for psychiatric and cognitive traits. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9(10), 838-844. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00157-2
Private companies have begun offering services to allow parents undergoing in-vitro fertilisation to screen embryos for genetic risk of complex diseases, including psychiatric disorders. This procedure, called polygenic embryo screening, raises several difficult scientific and ethical issues, as discussed in this Personal View. Polygenic embryo screening depends on the statistical properties of polygenic risk scores, which are complex and not well studied in the context of this proposed clinical application. The clinical, social, and ethical implications of polygenic embryo screening have barely been discussed among relevant stakeholders. To our knowledge, the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics is the first professional biomedical organisation to issue a statement regarding polygenic embryo screening. For the reasons discussed in this Personal View, the Society urges caution and calls for additional research and oversight on the use of polygenic embryo screening.