Blue eyes. Long limbs. A superior intellect.
Fertility clinics in the United States are marketing IVF embryo tests that claim to help parents select for all of this and more. And with some Australian couples already looking overseas to access these services, the question of whether they are worth pursuing – and whether Australia should lift its current restrictions on this type of testing – is becoming harder to ignore.
In February 2026, I joined ABC Radio National to talk through exactly this. As Medical Director of Genea Fertility Melbourne City and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, it is a topic I have researched closely and have strong views on.
My position is straightforward: these tests are not delivering what they promise. The predictions they generate are far less reliable than the marketing suggests, the potential benefits are much smaller than most people expect, and the risks – both medical and ethical – are real. For couples already navigating the emotional and financial weight of IVF, being sold false certainty is the last thing they need.
I also spoke about where this testing sits within Australia’s current regulatory framework, why the ban exists, and what I think needs to happen as commercial pressure from overseas companies continues to grow.
If you are going through IVF and want to understand what embryo genetic testing is genuinely worth considering for your situation, I have written about this in more detail on my website.