PGD, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for genetic abnormalities and inherited conditions, helps couples at risk of passing on an inherited condition to their children and helps avoid the decision of whether to continue the pregnancy if a defect is identified during pre-natal screening. PGD has been practised for over 15 years by infertility specialists and the benefits of PGD are advancing with the first birth of a baby girl born without the BRCA1 gene, with which carriers have an 80% increased risk of developing breast cancer, at the start of 2009.

Concerns had been raised over whether the removal of embryonic cells for use in PGD posed an adverse risk of birth defects, however a report by a team of Belgian researchers published in the December issue of the Human Reproduction journal states that PGD - pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for inherited conditions and genetic deformities - does not pose a risk of birth defects in singleton IVF pregnancies.

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