PGD Past and Present: Is the HFE Act 1990 Now 'Fit for Purpose'?

Abstract

This chapter sketches the influence that PGD had on the form in which the HFE Act was originally enacted. It outlines the regulatory approach to PGD established two decades ago by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the current statutory parameters introduced following the 2008 amendments. The chapter describes how the original HFE Act 1990 enabled the research agenda of scientists and clinicians to be facilitated. PGD was licensed according to criteria formulated by the HFEA and set out in its Code of Practice. In the case of Rhesus factor incompatibility, if foetal blood cells come into contact with maternal blood cells the womans immune system is triggered and antibodies are developed against what are recognised by her body as foreign (foetal) cells this is called alloimmunisation. The HFEA Licensing Committee recently refused to licence sex selection to avoid the inheritance of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the case of a family with two severely affected male children.