ASRM Ethics and Practice Committees Release New Report Concluding Polygenic Embryo Screening Is Not Ready for Clinical Use

December 8, 2025

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC—Fertility and Sterility, the flagship publication of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), has published a joint report from the Ethics and Practice Committees evaluating the use of preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disorders, known as PGT-P. The report concludes that this emerging technology is not ready for clinical practice and should not be offered as a reproductive service at this time, given the predictive uncertainties of the results and the substantial ethical considerations that it raises. 

PGT-P aims to estimate an embryo’s potential risk for developing certain multifactorial diseases such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, but current predictive models are limited by insufficient data, incomplete understanding of gene and environment interactions, and a lack of diverse genomic representation. These gaps mean that the scores produced may not translate into meaningful clinical guidance for patients or providers. The Committees also note that whether individuals will ultimately develop the conditions for which PGT-P is being offered can be significantly impacted by factors such as diet, lifestyle and future medical treatments, with polygenic risk scoring accounting for only a small percentage of clinical variation. 

Key Findings:

• PGT-P is a nascent and unproven technology that should not be used clinically at this time.
• Current evidence does not support the predictive accuracy, safety, or clinical value of polygenic embryo screening.
• The technology risks misleading patients by overstating what polygenic risk scores can reliably determine.
• PGT-P raises significant ethical issues, including concerns about equity, autonomy, disease prioritization, and the potential for biased or incomplete risk assessments.
• Any use of PGT-P should occur only in research settings under Institutional Review Board oversight until scientific, clinical, ethical, and societal concerns are addressed.

Together, this analysis provides an ethics-based framework to guide clinicians, policymakers, patients and the public at large as they navigate the emergence of polygenic embryo screening. By outlining the current limitations and risks of PGT-P, the Ethics Committee and Practice Committee underscore the critical importance of rigorous research, transparent communication, and careful scientific review before this technology is considered for clinical use.

Read "Use of preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disorders (PGT-P): an Ethics Committee opinion" on the Fertility and Sterility website