BOOK REVIEW

Abstract

Joyce Harper (ed). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2009. ISBN-13 9780521884716. Price £70, hardback. The title of this book is Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, which is actually a little misleading. It is not ‘only’ about PGD, it is a book covering every aspect of PGD: before, during and after. It is divided into three main sections: Background, Procedures, and Ethics and the Future, with each of these being split further into chapters. The Background section starts with a historical review which is also like an extended abstract, giving a brief coverage of the book. The different chapters give a quite comprehensive overview of assisted reproduction techniques, gametogenesis, the basis of medical genetics and embryo development. At first this struck me as a bit overambitious for a book about PGD, but while reading it I realised that it actually has a large educational value, since all these pieces form an important platform to understand the concept and the methodologies of PGD. In section two, aspects on and practicalities of clinical procedures are presented, divided into chapters dealing with biopsies at different development stages and with different methods of analysis. Background theory and hands-on tips are nicely mixed. A very important chapter on quality control and quality assurance rounds up the practical section. And, after having gone through all these clinical perspectives and practicalities, it is very refreshing and interesting to move into the chapter discussing normative reflections on preimplantation genetic testing. This book should be regarded as a state of the art review of genetic analysis of oocytes and preimplantation embryos and everything connected to it. It is enjoyable to read and easy to understand, also if you are far from being an expert in the field. It explains expressions and concepts, and gives both a broad overview as well as depth. I can see that it fits well in the book shelf of anybody interested in reproductive medicine – I am certainly happy to have it in my own – as well as being an introduction for students and novices in the ART field. The only time when I found myself actually missing something was when reading chapters 7 and 12, about the occurrence of genetic errors in the embryo. It would have been nice to have some drawings showing different scenarios of chromosome segregation during meiotic and mitotic cleavage, especially for the translocations carriers.