28 August 2008

Free fetal DNA: Testing the waters

A debate organised by Progress Educational Trust at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, on 23 September 2008.

FREE FETAL DNA: TESTING THE WATERS

A debate organised by the Progress Educational Trust in partnership with the Royal Society of Medicine, 6.30pm-8.30pm, Tuesday 23 September 2008 at Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE.

A decade ago, it was found that the blood of pregnant women contains DNA from the fetus. The discovery of this ‘free fetal DNA’ has led to the development of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD), where genetic characteristics of the fetus can be analysed a mere few weeks into pregnancy by studying a sample of the mother’s blood. This is safer and more convenient than invasive procedures such as amniocentesis, which carry a risk of miscarriage. And yet unlike other non-invasive prenatal tests such as ultrasound and serum screening, NIPD can offer definitive diagnoses.

NIPD has been successfully refined to the point where it is now reliably used to determine the sex and blood type of the fetus, making it easier to anticipate sex-linked genetic disorders and Rhesus disease. It is predicted that within the next few years, NIPD will be offered for the diagnosis of Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis and beta thalassemia. If the technique is further refined, it may enable the diagnosis of many other conditions as well.

NIPD offers tremendous benefit to patients and medical practitioners alike, and holds considerable future promise, but concerns over the technique have also been raised. Has it been properly evaluated? Might it encourage sex selection for non-medical reasons? How can we regulate its direct availability, via mail order and the internet, from unreliable or unscrupulous providers? And what of the broader ethics of selective termination? This public debate will explain the science, explore the ethics and consider the future of free fetal DNA testing.

Speakers:

  • LYN CHITTY Senior Lecturer in Genetics and Fetal Medicine at the Institute of Child Health
  • JANE FISHER Director of Antenatal Results and Choices
  • AINSLEY NEWSON Lecturer in Biomedical Ethics at the University of Bristol

    Chair:

  • TESSA HOMFRAY Consultant in Clinical Genetics at St George’s Hospital Medical School

    • Followed by questions from the floor.

    To reserve your place at this free event, please contact Sandy Starr at the Progress Educational Trust by or telephone +44 (0)20 7278 7870.