Ethical issues associated with preconception genetic screening: historical experience and current trends

Donnikov A.E.

Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow
The discovery of molecular markers for hereditary diseases and the development of technologies that made genetic diagnosis accessible to a wide range of people have created prerequisites for the primary prevention of many diseases. The identification and objective analysis of ethical problems associated with preconception screening for monogenic diseases for the primary prevention of hereditary diseases through genetic testing of potential partners. Based on the published data, the authors have analyzed in detail problems and contradictions when implementing various programs aimed at eradicating hereditary diseases. The influence of these programs on the gene pool and demography has been studied. The high efficiency of genetic screening for the prevention of autosomal recessive hereditary diseases has been shown. At the same time, the wide practical application of genetic technologies is hampered by the suppression of ethical issues. One of the possible ways to solve this problem may be the incorporation of local ethics committees into the medical diagnostic process.

Keywords

hereditary diseases
genetic diagnosis
preconception screening
genetic screening
ethics
primary prevention
clinical genetics

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Received 17.04.2019

Accepted 19.04.2019

About the Authors

Andrey E. Donnikov, PhD, head of the laboratory of molecular genetic techniques, a doctor of clinical laboratory diagnostics, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow. Е-mail: a_donnikov@oparina4.ru ORCID: 0000-0003-3504-2406 Reasearcher ID: E-7178-2015 ScopusID: 6505485697
117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparina 4.

For citations: Donnikov A.E. Ethical issues associated with preconception genetic screening: historical experience and current trends.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/ Obstetrics and gynecology. 2019; 11: 46-54.(In Russian).
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2019.11.46-54

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