Genetic Screening for Women Seeking Fertility Treatment

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health considering that gender bias for Pre-implantation Genetic Screening (PGS) can now be blinded, whether the Ministry will consider permitting women with recurrent miscarriages or a history of infertility to seek PGS in Singapore.

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider permitting Pre-implantation Genetic Screening to improve the chances of healthy live births, subject to strict controls, such as banning sex selection and use for other non-medical reasons.

Thank you. MOH had previously received requests to allow Pre-implantation Genetic Screening (PGS) to identify chromosomal abnormalities in embryos created through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), with the aim of improving the chances of conceiving. We had not granted approval so far as the published evidence had been unclear. In recent years, however, newer technologies for PGS have emerged and some jurisdictions have now allowed PGS.

MOH is, therefore, reviewing the clinical effectiveness of PGS and its ethical implications. To assess clinical effectiveness, NUH will be conducting a three-year pilot PGS programme which will commence by early next year.

MOH will also look into the ethical concerns and regulation of PGS. For example, we will need to ensure that embryos are not eliminated solely based on parental preferences on characteristics, such as gender.

MOH will consult stakeholders and the public to gather views.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. Can I just ask her if there is any criteria for this trial that is going to be carried out at NUH for people that want to participate in this trial?

The eligibility criteria for people to participate in this trial as well as all the other details, such as funding and so on, are being worked out and will be available closer to the date of commencement.