IMPLANTATION GENETIC HAPLOTYPING (PGH), COMBINES ELEMENTS OF EXISTING SCREENING METHODS. A HAPLOTYPE IS A PANEL OF MARKERS. WOMEN TESTED FOR THE CYSTIC FIBROSIS MUTATION WITH PGH HAD A ONE IN FOUR CHANCE OF HAVING A CHILD WITH THE ILLNESS. THE OTHERS HAD A ONE IN TWO CHANCE OF HAVING A SON WITH DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY. MOST WOMEN HAVING EMBRYO SCREENING DO NOT SUFFER FROM A FERTILITY PROBLEM BUT HAVE AN INCREASED RISK OF GIVING BIRTH TO A CHILD WITH A GENETIC DISORDER. THE SCREENING TEST CAN ONLY BE DONE USING EMBRYOS CREATED THROUGH IVF. THE TEST ANALYSES DNA EXTRACTED FROM A CELL FROM THE EMBRYO TO DETECT SIGNS OF THE GENETIC MUTATION. "YOU CAN ACTUALLY TRACK THE GENE THROUGH THE FAMILY WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE GENE. YOU CAN SEE WHICH EMBRYOS ARE AFFECTED AND WHICH ARE NOT," LASHWOOD EXPLAINED. THE RISK OF MISDIAGNOSIS IN MOST CASES WOULD BE LESS THAN ONE PERCENT, SHE ADDED. MORE THAN 5,500 DOCTORS, SCIENTISTS AND FERTILITY EXPERTS ARE ATTENDING THE FOUR-DAY MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF HUMAN REPRODUCTION AND EMBRYOLOGY (ESHRE).
