Fawz Al Harthi
King Saud Medical City, Saudi Arabia
Title: Attitudes toward preimplantation genetic diagnosis vs. pre-natal diagnosis in Saudi Arabian couples with children with genetic disorders
Biography
Biography: Fawz Al Harthi
Abstract
Background & Aim: Couples who are at risk for having an infant with a serious genetic disorder can benefit from Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), but many couples still opt for the more risky Pre-Natal Diagnosis (PND). Although couples make this decision together, the male and the female in the couple may have different attitudes toward choosing PGD vs. PND. The aim of this study was to determine if men and women in the same couple with at least one child with a genetic disorder will have significantly different attitudes toward choosing PGD vs. PND. Method: In this cross-sectional clinical study, couples attending the King Faisal Hospital, Genetic Counseling Clinic (KFH-GCC), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were asked to complete an anonymous survey about their attitudes towards PGD vs. PND. The responses were compared between men and women in the couples. Result: During May 2017, 38 couples provided complete surveys; 58% had one child born with a genetic disorder and the remaining had more than one child born with a genetic disorder. Over half (50%) of both men and women in the couples had Bachelors degrees or higher levels of education and the most common primary reason for visiting the clinic was having a child or children with a genetic disorder already (men=84%, women=82%). In terms of preference for PGD vs. PND, there were no significant differences in aggregate between men and women (p>0.05). Over half the couples agreed (were concordant) on all statements about PGD vs. PND. Among members of couples, discordance between preference for PND and PGD was similar, in that roughly equal numbers of discordant couples had women preferring PGD vs. men preferring PGD compared to PND. Conclusion: This study showed that members of couples who are patients of the KFH-GCC with a child with at least one genetic disorder were generally in agreement about their preference for PGD vs. PND. Further, men and women did not have significantly different attitudes toward choosing PGD vs. PND and among discordant couples, there was no preference among women for PGD vs. PND. Studies like this are important to help clinicians understand intra-couple dynamics in genetic counseling.