The average person doesn't understand anything about Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (or PGD). Those that hear that it's a way to test babies for diseases and to select certain characteristics of their offspring often get all up in arms about the ethical issues surrounding the topic. But the fact is that PGD can save parents and babies alike a whole lot of heartache in some cases.
The Eagle-Tribune recently reported on the healthy birth and development of twin girls after successful genetic screening. Alone, that's nice but not particularly news. However, the story that lead the parents to choose genetic screening makes it noteworthy. It also shows the average person why parents who probably wouldn't have ever thought about genetic screening chose to find a fertility expert to help them go through it.
Melanie and Troy Medieros already had one healthy child when their second baby was born. The second baby had problems from day one. The birth was premature and the child was born with a rare genetic skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa. Melanie and Troy spent four long months in the hospital hoping to help their baby. In the end, the baby died.
It took the parents two years to heal enough from the emotional pain to consider having children again. But they were cautious. During the course of treating their sick baby, they had found out that they both carry the gene for this rare disease. This would mean that there was a twenty five percent chance that they would go through the same ordeal again with another baby if they got pregnant.
They wanted to have a big family but didn't want to risk having to go through that again. It was too painful for them and for the baby as well. By choosing to work with a fertility doctor to screen for the disease, they were able to minimize the chance of passing it along. They now have healthy twin girls who just enjoyed their first birthday.
