Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Value of 'Genetic Affinity'

A couple in Singapore sued when the fertility clinic they used accidentally used the wrong sperm for their in vitro fertilization procedure, Gizmodo reports. It adds that the courts there not only found that medical malpractice occurred, but that the clinic must pay child support costs because of the "loss of 'genetic affinity.'"

Gizmodo notes that the case sets an interesting precedent as it places a monetary value — the clinic has to pay 30 percent of upkeep costs — on the amount of DNA a child shares with the parents.

"It's suggesting that the child itself has something wrong with it, genetically, and that it has monetary value attached to it," Todd Kuiken from North Carolina State University tells Gizmodo says. "They attached damages to the genetic makeup of the child, rather than the mistake. That's the part that makes it uncomfortable."

Kuiken along with Eleonore Pauwels from the Wilson Center add that this loss of genetic affinity ruling could lead to other scenarios such as ones in which child support in a divorce is determined based on degree of relatedness or, further in the future, parents suing after gene editing leads children to have the wrong color eyes.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.