Love-Heart Baby

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/openingshot/episode/5/ Until now, people with inherited genetic diseases risked passing them on to their children. Their only other options were adoption or choosing not to become parents. But modern science has opened a new door. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a process that can screen embryos for unwelcome genes, rejecting all but the disease-free versions. For filmmaker Shalom Almond, whose inherited eye disease threatens to render her blind later in life, it provides a greater chance to have a disease free baby. Shalom and husband Osker launch themselves into the harrowing world of PGD and its corollary, IVF. It's expensive, invasive and comes with no guarantees of a baby. But for them, it's the hope reproductive technology offers: to lessen the 50% chance of passing on a legacy of blindness. After several failed cycles they begin to lose heart. Shalom wonders whether they'd be better to just let Mother Nature roll the dice; Osker would prefer it that way. Shalom's mum Brenda, who has partial blindness, has a very different view. She implores Shalom to do whatever it takes not to pass on a disease that has devastated her life. Shalom must face the pressure of IVF as well as her mother's conviction that no more babies should be born with the disease. The whole process has created an emotional and moral quagmire. When suddenly PGD delivers Shalom and Osker to a crossroad, they have just moments to make the biggest decision of their lives. What they decide next will reverberate not only for them, but for their extended family and a tiny new embryo filled with potential - and risk.