IVF couples in Britain use legal loophole to get IQ predictions

Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.

- Hannah Devlin

The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA, is not permitted at UK fertility clinics and critics have raised scientific and ethical objections, saying the method is unproven.

But under data protection laws, patients can demand their embryos' raw genetic data and send it abroad for analysis in an effort to have smarter, healthier children and some have done.

Dr Cristina Hickman, a senior embryologist and founder of Avenues fertility clinic in London, said rapid advances in embryo screening and the recent launch of several US companies offering so-called polygenic screening, had left clinics facing "legal and ethical confusion".

"This opens a whole can of worms," said Hickman, who raised the issue in a letter last month to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

One US company, Herasight, which charges $50,000 (£37,000) to assess an unlimited number of embryos, confirmed it had already worked with couples undergoing IVF at UK clinics. There is no suggestion that Herasight is in breach of any regulations.