Welcome to The Centre for Genetics and PGD

In South Africa 1 in 2000 live born white infants are born with Cystic Fibrosis, a debilitating and fatal genetic disease. Yet none of these parents chose to have a child affected with a life-threatening disease. Unfortunately however, most if not all of these parents were probably unaware of their unborn baby’s genetic status until the time of prenatal testing (amniocentesis or CVS), which, at the earliest, is at about nine weeks. At this stage the only options these parents have are to either terminate the pregnancy – a daunting and traumatic decision peppered by moral, religious and personal dilemmas, which can be further complicated if the pregnancy is at an advanced stage, or they choose to bring an affected, sick child into this world and the face the emotional, physical and even financial hardships that accompany taking care of a child affected with a genetic disease.

Then there are those patients who are able to naturally conceive but unable to carry the pregnancy to term. The emotional and psychological toll of repeated miscarriages often results in many patients giving up on the hope of ever having a genetic offspring.

Another subgroup of patients, often seen in ART clinics, are those who are of advanced maternal age and have undergone repeated IVF cycles but with no success even though there seems to be no underlying cause of infertility.

With the advancement of technology there is hope for all three groups of patients. In 1990 Handyside et al described the first application of a new technique in medical science known as Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). This new treatment option is now, two decades later, able to help couples at risk of transmitting an inherited disease or abnormality and patients experiencing repeated IVF failures or miscarriages, bring a healthy, happy baby into the world.