Is polygenic scoring of embryos a good idea? Doctors and patients don't always agree

Some fertility patients now have the option to use polygenic scoring to screen their embryos. A new study investigates how patients and doctors feel about it — and they differ.

I've written before about polygenic scoring. It's a technology that makes predictions about possible future traits and health outcomes.

In a nutshell: Polygenic scoring works by identifying and evaluating hundreds or even thousands of tiny genetic variations in an individual's DNA. One of these variations on its own doesn't cause a trait or condition, but a combination of many tiny variations may point to something. How do we know? Large-scale "genome-wide association studies" (GWAS) scour the genomes of thousands or millions of people to see what variations people with certain traits or conditions have in common. But, importantly, at best the score only tells you about the likelihood of developing the condition or trait — it's not a certainty.

I've had my doubts about how useful it might really be.

But the fact is that some people are already using this technology to make decisions. They use PGT-P, or "preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disorders," to help decide which embryos to transfer.

Last month, a paper was published that looked into how people feel about this new technology. In particular, how do patients feel about the idea of using polygenic scores to screen embryos? How do fertility doctors feel about it?

Below, I summarize some of the findings. One was that patients and doctors don't entirely agree — and not in the way I expected.