2010 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2010. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.

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Is it genetically possible to modify a child's DNA before they are born so that they wont have cancer in their lifetime?      Matt Tschirgi, M.S., C.G.C.: I am a prenatal genetic counselor who works with women who have high risk pregnancies. I provid information about testing options, results, and genetic risk assessment. At this point we cannot genetically modify a child's DNA. However, we can do preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to select an embryo that doesn't have the genetic mutation that may cause cancer and transfer it to the mother for implantation and development. East Haven High School in CT (10th grade student)

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