Many Opt for Genetic Testing of Embryos for Kidney Disease

FRIDAY, Aug. 28, 2020 (HealthDay News) — About half of couples referred for counseling due to a family history of kidney disease opt for preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic kidney disease, and 65 percent of those experience one or more live births of an unaffected child, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Rozemarijn Snoek, from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, and colleagues provide a clinical overview of 25-year preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic kidney disease in the Netherlands in a retrospective cohort study of 98 couples counseled.

The researchers found that 53 percent of the couples opted for preimplantation genetic testing. The most frequent indications for referral were autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, Alport syndrome, and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (38, 26, and 9 percent, respectively). Sixty-five percent of the couples with at least one preimplantation genetic testing cycle with oocyte retrieval experienced one or more live births of an unaffected child. Thirty-eight percent of the couples counseled declined preimplantation genetic testing, for personal and technical reasons.

“Our data can aid in counseling prospective parents from families with monogenic kidney disease on the option of preimplantation genetic testing,” the authors write. “This enables couples to make informed decisions in line with their personal, cultural, and moral background and beliefs.”

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