David Wolmer

David Wolmer, MD, chief of reproductive endocrinology and fertility at Duke University School of Medicine, agrees."If a family has a known genetic disorder like muscular dystrophy, we feel it is OK to transfer embryos that do not have that gene," Wolmer tells WebMD."We do the same with families who have cystic fibrosis -- specifically screening embryos for those genes, to try to avoid having a child with that disorder."

Needed: Embryo Screening Review Process

However, says Wolmer, "We need a review process that allows people who aren't just doing it to be self-serving.Some couples are asking for a blanket embryo screening, to look at the huge realm of possibilities.That's the slippery slope to me, that people with no family history of a disease are asking us to take a blanket look at the huge realm of possibilities like Down syndrome, for example, which is a genetic abnormality but not an actual genetic disorder."

It's important "to be very careful at that point," Wolmer says."We need to look at the family's intent when they request embryo screening.In our society today, different yardsticks are used to measure if this is OK or not -- science, theology, law.I think that an Institutional Review Board process in the U.S. needs to be applied here.We can't lose sight of what is research and what is accepted therapy."

Everyone involved in IVF and embryo screening must consider ethics at every point, says Wolmer.

Embryo Screening Not 100% Accurate

Wolmer brings up another point: Embryo screening is not a perfect process; there is no 100% guarantee."There's a question whether that one cell may be abnormal, but the others may be normal," says Wolmer.