"Designer Baby" clinic opens in Los Angeles, CA

**AliceInWonderland** · March 3rd, 2009, 01:05 PM

L.A. Delivers First 'Designer Baby' Clinic
L.A. Delivers First 'Designer Baby' Clinic

LOS ANGELES -- A local fertility clinic is now offering parents the option of selecting not only their baby's gender but physical traits as well, such as eye or hair color.

"Fertility Institutes" says it has already received "half a dozen" requests for the service, which will be available to couples undergoing IVF, or in vitro fertilization.

The clinic claims it can make no guarantees as to "perfect prediction" of things such as eye or hair color.

But it has already been using PGD for gender selection and claims it has a success rate in that area of greater than 99 percent.

PGD is already used at fertility clinics around the world for couples who have recurrent miscarriages, or who need to screen out embryos that have inherited the genes for life-threatening diseases.

The process involves fertilizing eggs in a lab. When the embryos are three days old, a single cell is removed and analyzed.

If the cell has an abnormal chromosome count, the embryo is discarded. Healthy embryos are then implanted in the mother's womb.

While PGD has existed since the 1990s, the technology has now quietly progressed to the point that it can be used to create "designer babies" for hopeful parents who want to select their children's physical traits.

The cost of a trait selection baby is $18,000. The procedure has an estimated 80-percent success rate.

Dr. Jeff Steinberg, a pioneer of IVF in the 1970s who now runs the Los Angeles office of Fertility Institutes explains that his clinic started out by trying to screen out albinism and in the process learned how to predict eye color.

Steinberg has said the majority of the patients who come to his clinic and its other offices in New York and Mexico are interested in PGD because of concerns about genetic illness, not gender or physical traits.

The first "designer baby" is expected to be born next year.

well, i dont know about this. i know its a free country and all but I see this leading to certain things...

**Grimmlok** · March 3rd, 2009, 01:22 PM

eugenics has begun.

**Sasha** · March 3rd, 2009, 01:27 PM

It was only a matter of time.

**dolem** · March 3rd, 2009, 01:34 PM

Why can't people just be happy with the randomness of what you end up with? I think it is exciting to wonder what hair color or eye color your baby will have, or what sex your baby is.

Though, I can somewhat understand wanting to know about genetic diseases that could be passed down from parent to child.

**sputnik** · March 3rd, 2009, 01:38 PM

to be honest, i might think of doing this to pick gender. don't really care about the rest though.

(well, unless one day they perfect the technology and can isolate the embryos with the stupid gene

)

**FierceKiten** · March 3rd, 2009, 01:39 PM

This is just getting out of hand but, we shouldnt be suprised anymore.

**MrsMarsters** · March 3rd, 2009, 02:05 PM

Why would this even be allowed? AREN'T THERE MORE important things to worry about then how little Aidan, Or Caylee would LOOK like? I always think if we cared more about actual cure of diseases that there would be more of them..but people are so wrapped up into stupid shit..

**AliceInWonderland** · March 3rd, 2009, 02:13 PM

well like i said before, its a free country so ppl can what stupid shit they want to with $8,000

or whatever it ends up costing, but yeah, just cuz you can do it, doesn't make it right

**MrsMarsters** · March 3rd, 2009, 02:14 PM

$8,000? Does not sound like a lot. Do you get a refund if the child is not perfect?

**AliceInWonderland** · March 3rd, 2009, 02:15 PM

oh i mis-read, its $18,000! so they say...

**Sarzy** · March 3rd, 2009, 02:15 PM

This is SO wrong! It actually annoys me a lot.

**lurkur** · March 3rd, 2009, 02:19 PM

I can only imagine what would happen if "it" doesn't turn out "right" and someone sues the place because the baby didn't pop out pageant-ready. "Well, Maddissynn, mommy and daddy are suing the clinic because you turned out wrong!"