Many Fertility Clinic Web Sites Do Not Disclose Risks Of Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis, According To Study

Main Category: Fertility
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Genetics
Article Date: 19 Oct 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Many fertility clinic Web sites do not fully disclose the risks associated with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, a procedure offered in conjunction with in vitro fertilization that can screen embryos for 5,000 genetic disorders and indicate the sex of the embryo, according to a study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, Reuters reports.

Robert Klitzman, head of Columbia University's master's program in bioethics, and colleagues studied Web sites of 83 fertility clinics that offer PGD. Twenty-two of the clinics were based at universities or hospitals, and the rest were private clinics.

The researchers found that 35% of the Web sites mentioned that PGD can miss the target diagnosis, and 18% mentioned that the procedure could destroy the embryo. About 14% of Web sites called PGD "new" or "controversial." The study also found that 18% of private clinics' Web sites mentioned that PGD can be used for the controversial practice of selecting for gender without a medical reason for doing so, while none of the 22 hospital- or university-based clinics did.

Klitzman said patients should view information on clinics' Web sites as advertising. Visitors to the sites should check any claims for citations from medical journals, he added, "This also speaks to the need for physicians to have time to go over material with patients," Klitzman said (Harding, Reuters, 10/14).

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