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Funding for PGD is confirmed - Commentary - 20 December 2005

In what will certainly be the best Christmas present for many New Zealand couples at risk of inherited disease in their children, the new Health Minister Pete Hodgson last week announced government funding of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. This procedure will help couples avoid a repeat of the serious and often fatal condition that already exists in their family. Click here to see the Minister’s press release detailing the funding package.

In May this year the guidelines for PGD were approved and the funding decision just released will see New Zealand take a lead in comparison to many other countries, with public funding of efforts to control some very severe inherited diseases.

The funding will cover an expected 40 procedures each year for a range of single gene disorders which may be inherited when both parents are carriers of the same genetic disorder, or where there is a family history of sex-linked disorders passed on to babies by one parent's carrier status. Examples of such condition include Huntington's disease, Haemophilia, Leukodystrophies, Lysosomal diseases, Muscular Dystrophy and Cystic Fibrosis.

NZORD is delighted to see the funding of PGD confirmed before the end of the year. It is a very satisfactory conclusion to a year that started out with consultation on the guidelines for PGD and the establishment of a new law and committee structure to oversee PGD and other assisted reproductive technologies. Having the funding decision arrive now will be a great comfort to those couples wanting to plan their family in the face of these risks. They will be able to face 2006 with renewed hope and confidence.

The funding decision is limited at this time to procedures for inherited diseases and does not cover payment for other approved PGD procedures such as for recurrent miscarriages or possible foetal aneuploidy. However what has been approved is a tremendous step forward in ensuring equity of access to the procedures for those at risk of inherited diseases in their family.

John Forman
Executive Director