Genepeeks Checks DNA of Donated Eggs and Sperm



Genepeeks Checks DNA of Donated Eggs or Sperm  Find more genealogy blogs at FamilyTree.comThere are several genetically heritable diseases. Those who are aware that the genes for a particular disease run in their family can have a doctor do a DNA test. What if you are a person who wants to have a baby from a donated egg or from donated sperm? There is now a company that can check that DNA for you.

Parents have DNA testing done in order to find out the risk of passing a serious disease to their child. It is entirely possible for a person to be a carrier of a gene that corresponds to a genetically heritable disease. That person does not have the disease themselves. However, their child might end up with the disease – especially if both parents happened to be carriers.

Tay-Sachs is one example of a genetically heritable disease. Parents who carry a gene associated with Tay-Sachs can pass it along to their child. The parent might not have any idea that he or she carries that gene.

Children who have Tay-Sachs start showing symptoms when they reach 6 months of age. The baby is born without the ability to create the enzyme that breaks down fatty substances. Over time, the fatty substances build up to toxic levels. It is a progressive disease which leads to death. There is no cure.

What about parents who wants to conceive a child with the help of donor eggs or donor sperm? These type of donations are kept anonymous. This means the parent cannot request that the donor take a DNA test to screen for the presence or absence of specific genes.

Genepeeks can help. It provides people with the tools they need in order to find a safer donor match. Their Matchright technology predicts how your genes and a donor’s genes will interact. It checks to see if the potential child would be at risk for hundreds of recessive conditions that aren’t included in a donor bank’s standard screening process.

Parents receive a personalized catalogue of donors that Genepeeks has determined would be a good choice based upon the parent’s genetic signature. Potential donors whose genetics could result in a risk of a child being born with a serious disease or illness have been filtered out.

There is still going to be a small chance that a child could end up with a spontaneous mutation that can result in the presence of a serious condition or disease. Genepeeks does not analyze the disease risk caused by autosomal dominant mutations or mutations on the X chromosome. Their technology does not detect the risk of a child having Down Syndrome.

Image by Lara604 on Flickr.

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* Things to Know About “Three-Parent” Babies

* Karyomapping Can Detect Genetic Conditions

* Learn More From Your DNA

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