Irish baby of couple carrying rare disease born healthy after revolutionary treatment
An Irish baby, whose parents are the carriers of an extremely rare disease, is the first to be born healthy as a result of a revolutionary treatment.
Emma and John O'Connor, who live in east Cork, are both carriers of mucolipidosis.
Their first child Aoibhe was born with the disease, but their second daughter Lauren was not.
They underwent pre-implantation genetic diagnosis - or PGD treatment - and their third child, Megan, was born free of the disease last month as a result.
PGD treatment is used to identify embryos with common genetic diseases and select ones which are safe to transfer as part of the various forms of IVF.
Medical Director of Cork Fertility Centre (where the couple were treated) Dr John Waterstone said it was in the Government's interest to provide funding for the treatment.
"(They) very rightly speak about preventative medicine being the way forward, and we should try to prevent disease rather than treat it when it occurs. PGD is surely one of the purest forms of preventative medicine," he said.
"We've written to Leo Varadkar saying there is an effective PGD programme in Ireland and we think it should be helped and funded by the Department of Health."
