National Deaf Children’s Society

‘It is not our role to express an opinion on the way society decides to make use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

‘We support all families and deaf children/young people regardless of any choices they make around medical interventions and deafness. It is for families to own their experiences of deafness and no family or deaf child should be made to feel anything less than positive about the choices they make around deafness.

‘We support the development of genetic diagnosis and services. The NHS should ensure that these developments are widely available and accessible to deaf children, young people and their families.

‘Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis involves IVF techniques to produce embryos, but with the additional step a few cells are removed from each embryo and tested to see whether or not that embryo has inherited a particular gene or not. This allows selection of which embryos will be placed in the uterus. It is available for couples who have a chance of passing on a specific genetic condition.

‘We acknowledge that some families with a history of deafness may wish to use this type of technology in planning their family.’

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