– Here we take out more eggs from the woman, and fertilize them outside the body. We are in the fertility department at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim. Biologist Alexei Stevanovic shows us around, and explains how the fertilized eggs are grown until they reach what is called the blastocyst stage. The fertilized eggs are frozen after tissue samples have been taken. If the samples show the genetic defect being searched for, they are discarded. Photo: Morten Waagø / news – After five days, when the blastocysts have grown to approx. 100-200 cells, we use lasers to take tissue samples from them. 5–7 cells are analyzed for specific genetic defects that the mother and / or father are carriers of. Among the diseases that can be detected are Huntington’s disease and Cystic fibrosis. There are diseases that can be passed on to the child. The tissue samples are not taken from the cells that will become the fetus, but from the part that will become the placenta. While the samples are being analyzed in England, the blastocysts are frozen pending the verdict. St. Olav’s hospital is the first hospital in the country that can offer couples about such tissue samples of embryos to check if fertilized eggs have a specific genetic defect. – If we think that the embryo itself at the blastocyst stage is 0.2 millimeters, then we take about a fifth of it. What we take out and analyze is incredibly small, says Stevanovic. Nevertheless, the tissue sample provides crucial answers. – Those who turn out to be healthy can be admitted. The others are destroyed. Only blastocysts without the genetic defect that are looked for in each case are inserted into the uterus. Graphics: Tuva Tagseth / news Can opt out of genetic defects In 2020, there were changes in the Biotechnology Act. It opened up for what is called genetic preimplantation diagnostics (PGT) in Norway. A genetic test of cells from fertilized eggs. The offer is given to couples or singles who are carriers of hereditary disease. PGT can also be performed to examine tissue type with a view to having a child who can be a stem cell donor for a sibling with a serious and inherited disease. Biologist Alexei Stavanovic extracts cells from what is to become the placenta in an embryo and examines the genes. The tests can provide answers as to whether the fertilized egg is a carrier of a serious disease. Photo: Morten Waagø / news Previously decided by the board Such treatment has also previously been offered to Norwegian couples. Then the couples have been assessed and possibly approved by a board. Approved couples have been sent to either Stockholm or Brussels for treatment. It is now a medical committee that decides who will receive the offer, and the treatment will be able to be performed at St. Olav’s hospital or at Oslo University Hospital. – This is unique in that we can offer the treatment patients are entitled to here. We now have four specialists in place here who can carry out the procedure itself, says chief physician at the fertility department Hanna Schilling. Patients who have needed this type of treatment have previously had to travel abroad, says chief physician Hanna Schilling. Photo: Morten Waagø / news There are several benefits. – These can be couples where one of the parties has a serious illness and is in a resource-intensive and difficult situation. When we have previously sent patients abroad, there has been a long wait. It is also much cheaper to treat patients here at home. Not designer babies Our genetic system has been mapped down to the smallest detail. This means that through a retest you can pick and choose in all possibilities and properties. Eye color, hair color, gender, length. All information is in the genes. Therefore, this type of treatment has been criticized for promoting a sorting society. Alexei Stevanovic does not agree. Height, eye color, hair color and all other characteristics and characteristics are found in our genes. – It’s not about designer babies, it’s about having healthy children. We only test whether the fertilized egg is a carrier of the gene that causes the hereditary disease. The parents are not allowed to know anything about either gender or other characteristics. Increasing needs So far, only money has been set aside for the treatment of five couples at St. Olav’s hospital this year, but the need is much greater. The money is set aside from the hospital’s own budgets. – We estimate that the need is about 60 pairs in 2023. And there are more and more diagnoses where preimplantation diagnostics are opened up. According to Hanna Schilling, no funds have been provided via the Norwegian Directorate of Health to maintain the offer yet. If this does not happen, she fears treatment in Norway will have to be put on hold. – This is important treatment for couples who have a strong desire for a healthy child and who have been waiting for many years. And it is significantly more expensive to send them out of the country. Hi! Do you have any thoughts on the case you have read, or tips for something we should look into? Please contact!
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Serious and hereditary disease? Norwegian hospitals start genetic testing (PGD / PGT) – news Trøndelag
