The Imperative of Responsible Innovation in Reproductive Medicine

The introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF) into the routine practice of reproductive medicine opened the gateway for exciting new innovations. Moreover, the accessibility of human embryos before uterine transfer made it possible to secure biopsy material for genetic analysis. In 1990, it was first reported that a procedure currently known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis was used in the genetic selection of diseasefree embryos.1 The goal of this procedure is to assist couples who are at known risk for transmitting a genetic disease in conceiving an unaffected child. However, as is often the case with the introduction of a new technology, preimplantation genetic diagnosis was soon deployed for indications other than those for which it had originally been intended. In this case, the added indication was to increase the IVF success rate (pregnancy per embryo transfer) by determining the ploidy status of the embryo.