How To Avoid Having Children with Sickle Cell Disorder
Avoid Having Children with Sickle Cell Disorder
The Use of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to Detect and Avoid Sickle Cell Anemia. THE ONLY TECHNOLOGY ABLE TO GUARANTEE A SICKLE CELL FREE BABY
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease of the red blood cells which can cause attacks of pain and damage to vital organs which can lead to premature death. The genetic basis of sickle cell inheritance has been known for many years. It is just recently however that this genetic knowledge has become useful in helping those families known to carry the sickle cell gene avoid the birth of infants affected with the sickle cell disease disorder. The sickle cell prevention PGD program at the Fertility Institutes in Los Angeles and New York approaches 100% certainty in helping couples assure that a pregnancy will not result in the birth of a baby with sickle cell disease.
The sickle cell disorder is known to occur when a person inherits two sickle cell genes (one from each parent) or a combination of one sickle cell gene from one parent and any one of several other abnormal hemoglobin genes from the other. The sickle cell disorder may be the world's most commonly inherited disorder and is clearly the most common genetic affliction seen in African infants. 1% to 2% of babies born on the African continent are afflicted with sickle cell disorder or one of its variants.
The genes for the sickle related disorders arose in the evolution of mankind as a result of gene mutation. Because of the partial protective effects of sickle genes against the dangers of falciparium malaria, these gene abnormalities proliferated in areas where there was or is a high incidence of malaria. Currently, the Bantus in African countries north of the Zambesi River have a high incidence of sickle cell disorder, with the prevalence varying but significant in all other parts of the African continent.
The inheritance of a sickle cell related disorder occurs at the moment of conception. As a human egg carrying a sickle trait is initially fertilized by a sperm carrying a similar disorder, the resulting new embryo is irreversibly imprinted with the genetic blueprint that will ultimately and inevitably appear as a sickle cell related disorder in the newborn.
This early imprinting of the embryo allows the physicians and scientists at the Fertility Institutes the opportunity to analyze the newly formed embryos in search of the genetic codes responsible for both normal and abnormal hemoglobin production, sickle cell and non sickle cell embryos. Prior to this analysis, the future mother and father will have had blood studies carried out by the Fertility Institutes to identify and characterize the nature of the sickle related genetic disorder that is carried. This information is then used to aid in the identification of both normal embryos resulting from the new fertilization as well as those embryos destined to exhibit a sickle cell related disorder. The embryos being examined remain in the safe confines of the embryo growth and development incubators at a world renown Fertility Institutes. Within a few short days of the production of the embryos, the genetic teams associated with the Fertility Institutes will have studied the embryos and identified those both disease free as well as those carrying the sickle cell related disorder. This vital genetic information is then shared by the physicians with the parents allowing parents the opportunity to avoid with near certainty the chance of a pregnancy carrying a predefined sickle related disorder.
For details email:sicklecellcounselor@37.com
The Use of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to Detect and Avoid Sickle Cell Anemia. THE ONLY TECHNOLOGY ABLE TO GUARANTEE A SICKLE CELL FREE BABY
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease of the red blood cells which can cause attacks of pain and damage to vital organs which can lead to premature death. The genetic basis of sickle cell inheritance has been known for many years. It is just recently however that this genetic knowledge has become useful in helping those families known to carry the sickle cell gene avoid the birth of infants affected with the sickle cell disease disorder. The sickle cell prevention PGD program at the Fertility Institutes in Los Angeles and New York approaches 100% certainty in helping couples assure that a pregnancy will not result in the birth of a baby with sickle cell disease.
The sickle cell disorder is known to occur when a person inherits two sickle cell genes (one from each parent) or a combination of one sickle cell gene from one parent and any one of several other abnormal hemoglobin genes from the other. The sickle cell disorder may be the world's most commonly inherited disorder and is clearly the most common genetic affliction seen in African infants. 1% to 2% of babies born on the African continent are afflicted with sickle cell disorder or one of its variants.
The genes for the sickle related disorders arose in the evolution of mankind as a result of gene mutation. Because of the partial protective effects of sickle genes against the dangers of falciparium malaria, these gene abnormalities proliferated in areas where there was or is a high incidence of malaria. Currently, the Bantus in African countries north of the Zambesi River have a high incidence of sickle cell disorder, with the prevalence varying but significant in all other parts of the African continent.
The inheritance of a sickle cell related disorder occurs at the moment of conception. As a human egg carrying a sickle trait is initially fertilized by a sperm carrying a similar disorder, the resulting new embryo is irreversibly imprinted with the genetic blueprint that will ultimately and inevitably appear as a sickle cell related disorder in the newborn.
This early imprinting of the embryo allows the physicians and scientists at the Fertility Institutes the opportunity to analyze the newly formed embryos in search of the genetic codes responsible for both normal and abnormal hemoglobin production, sickle cell and non sickle cell embryos. Prior to this analysis, the future mother and father will have had blood studies carried out by the Fertility Institutes to identify and characterize the nature of the sickle related genetic disorder that is carried. This information is then used to aid in the identification of both normal embryos resulting from the new fertilization as well as those embryos destined to exhibit a sickle cell related disorder. The embryos being examined remain in the safe confines of the embryo growth and development incubators at a world renown Fertility Institutes. Within a few short days of the production of the embryos, the genetic teams associated with the Fertility Institutes will have studied the embryos and identified those both disease free as well as those carrying the sickle cell related disorder. This vital genetic information is then shared by the physicians with the parents allowing parents the opportunity to avoid with near certainty the chance of a pregnancy carrying a predefined sickle related disorder.
For details email:sicklecellcounselor@37.com
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