As we are well aware of the rare muscle disorder known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and among the most common genetic conditions impacting roughly 1 out of every 3,500 male births around the world. From the age of 3-6 years is when it becomes physically evident. DMD symptoms include weakness and muscle atrophy in the pelvic area along with the muscles on the shoulder. While the disease becomes more severe, muscle weakness and atrophy extends to greatly impact the trunk and forearms and slowly advance to entail additional muscles. By the time the person is a teenager, a wheelchair is required due to its relentless progression. Severe and deadly complications could eventually evolve which include heart disease and respiratory issues.
How to Avoid Being Born with the disorder? The complex process of "gender selection" is used to give you the ability to decide the sex of an embryo.
In the some countries, gender selection is only permitted for medical reasons, which include the prevention of having a baby with a gender-related genetic disorder such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This diseases does not affect girls but they may still "carry" the gene for the disease yet will not experience any symptoms.
The advantages of Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) are numerous for couples who have an elevated risk of bearing a chile with a particular genetic disorder, and where they would find it very difficult to start thinking about ending a pregnancy following a prenatal diagnosis at a later phase of the pregnancy. PGD is at present the only method practiced to decide the gender of the baby.
Parents with a family history of very serious or fatal hereditary conditions are able to incorporate two fertility procedures, In Vitro Fertilization ("IVF") and PGD. Couples utilizing PGD will initially have to undergo IVF to produce embryos. Once that step is successful, a single cell may then be extracted from the embryos with the utmost care, (i.e. no damage), then this cell can be analyzed to find out if it holds the genetic flaw that leads to the condition. The IVF specialist makes sure to use only embryo's that do not carry the defective gene so it can be inserted into the uterus of the mother.