genotype marriage

[jim41750]

My fiancee and I are both AS and the doctor said its dangerous to get married since we will produce sickle cell (SS) offspring.

How, and how soon can the genotype of an unborn child be determined. Also is it advisable to continue with the marriage

[canalon]

25% chance for each of your kid to be SS.
As for your marriage, SS is a possibility, but is that the most important. A question that only the 2 of you can answer.

[Darby]

I think you'd need to wait until amniocentesis is feasible. There have been other testing methods proposed that might be used earlier, but I don't know if any ever made it to actual application.

[Kezzer]

I know in the UK that for couples needing IVF if there is a genetic risk that the couple may produce affected offspring due to their karyotype or if they have a proportion of genetically abnormal gametes then pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) can be performed on an early stage embryo before it is implanted into the woman's uterus.

I know that PGD has been performed in couples at risk of passing on an X-linked genetic disorder by selecting the sex of a child - as one of my professor's pioneered this technology and performed the first treatment.

When you are thinking of starting a family it may be worth looking into whether you could utilise PGD to avoid having an affected child, but it's not cheap, at least £2000 in the UK!

Here is a link with some information on PGD http://www.thebridgecentre.co.uk/05_treatments/pgd.htm