In just a few short days, our egg donor Marie and her husband will be flying in from the US for her screening appointments in Belgium. In addition to meeting with our doctor, a psychologist, the coordinating midwives, and etc, a big part of the jam-packed day will be a meeting with a geneticist. This geneticist will be searching for any genetic diseases that may preclude her from donating her eggs to us. But what genetic diseases will they be screening for, specifically?
There are four tests she needs to have, and the only one she’s had so far is the chromosome analysis. As I described in a previous post, Marie found out that this test can be done much more quickly in the US than Belgium, and she even convinced her doctor there to write up a lab order. However, we still weren’t sure if the results would come in before the screening appointments next week. We even had a bet about what would come back first: the results of the chromosome analysis, or her new passport. (I was betting that the passport would be the last to arrive, leaving us biting our nails until the very last minute.)
Well I lost…the passport came back first. But we also got the results of the chromosome analysis! All normal, as expected for that particular test given that she has two healthy kids. That leaves three more tests that she will need to have done when we’re in Belgium next week.
What are the additional tests?
The are three other diseases that they specifically screen for:
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Fragile-X: A genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, behavioral challenges and certain physical traits like a long face. The likelihood of carrying this gene is higher for women, where approximately 1 in 151 are carriers.
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Spinal Muscular Atrophy: A genetic disorder that affects the control of muscle movement. Approximately 1 in 50 people are carriers.
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Cystic Fibrosis: A genetic disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system, and other organs. Approximately 1 in 23 people are carriers.
We were a little shocked to learn the statistics for these, especially for cystic fibrosis. Even if Marie is totally healthy otherwise, and even though my husband would also have to be a carrier to result in the baby having a 1-in-4 chance of getting CF, they won’t let her donate if she’s a carrier.
Then is that it?
So if Marie passes all of these tests, then does she get the all-clear to donate? No, because as I’ve mentioned before, we’re apparently trying to create a genetically-flawless, award-winning baby.*
The geneticist will therefore also check her family history for a number of other inheritable diseases. They won’t say exactly what they’re looking for — I think partly because they know people would just lie if they knew. But I understand that a few of the ones on the no-fly list are breast cancer and other inheritable cancers, autism, and epilepsy.
If they do find any of those, then Marie’s out of the running, and it’s back to the drawing board for us. That would be extremely frustrating — to say the least — since most people with any number of issues can pop out a baby any time the mood strikes them. It would also be quite a blow since we had such a difficult time finding a donor in the first place. So let’s hope that doesn’t happen, and that we can move on to Stage 2 of creating this genetically-superior wonder-baby.
*(Unless my husband has any diseases, which they don’t care about in the slightest. It’s perfectly legal to pass down your own genetic problems to your baby. You just can’t give them someone else’s!)
The Bunless Oven 