We will make children according to the customer's sketches
The well-known American company 23andMe has patented a DNA analysis method that allows customers to choose sperm and egg donors based on their wishes regarding the unborn child.
23andMe provides a DNA sequencing service in a saliva sample. To date, she regularly provides 400,000 of her clients with the latest information about the increased risks of developing certain diseases, the origin of their ancestors and the degree of kinship with Neanderthals.
In addition to the $99 paid for the service, the company's clients must participate in surveys that allow specialists to conduct research aimed at identifying associations between DNA sequences and various characteristics, such as the risk of developing diseases.
A new patent issued in the USA covers the DNA analysis method underlying the interactive calculator, which can be used on the 23andMe website. With its help, two clients of the company can calculate the probability of transmitting a particular phenotype to a child, that is, a characteristic resulting from the interaction of various possible combinations of their genes.
To date, the calculator allows you to estimate the probability of the manifestation of only six signs: eye color, earwax density, the tendency of muscle fibers to sprint loads or endurance loads, the ability to perceive bitter taste, lactose tolerance and a tendency to redness of the skin when drinking alcohol. According to the representative of 23andMe, Donald Cutler, using the program is only part of the pleasure received from the birth of a child.
However, the patent describes the application as a procedure for "selecting a germ cell donor", allowing the recipient to "[identify] the preferred donor from a plurality of donors." For example, a woman can use it to select a sperm donor whose genes, together with her genes, can most likely ensure the appearance of a child with certain characteristics. The phenotypes listed here vary from eye color to diabetes risk and life expectancy.
Interface element of the optimal donor selection systemThe possibility of such a choice causes concern among ethicists.
Despite the fact that screening for hereditary diseases is considered ethical, the selection of donors according to other criteria borders on eugenics.
Moreover, the selection of a donor according to the desired criteria is fraught with disappointment for future parents, since many signs are formed as a result of the interaction of many genes, the result of which is impossible to predict today.
This explains the company's intention to use the patented method exclusively for a calculator that allows calculating the probability of the manifestation of traits completely controlled by one or two genes. However, the representative of the company notes that in the future the attitude to this issue may change, as active research in the field of genetics may lead to the identification of clear associations between genes and certain phenotypes.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of New Scientist:
US firm patents DNA-analysis tool for planning a baby.
08.10.2013