Sara Levene

Wellcome Connecting Science | Various | Empowering People: Genetic Counselling in Focus

Working through the pros and cons of difficult decisions

Sara Levene is Consultant Genetic Counsellor at The Centre for Reproductive & Genetic Health in London and is a committee member of the AGNC. Sara specialises in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which she discusses in this short film.

PGD is a method to check embryos for serious inherited genetic conditions. Only embryos that are free of the condition are implanted into the woman’s womb. PGD can only be used in the UK to test for conditions that have been approved by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority.

Portrait and environment

Chrystal Ding, 2019

Chrystal captured this portrait of Sara in her clinic at The Centre for Reproductive & Genetic Health in London. An accompanying photograph shows Sara drawing a pedigree (a shorthand chart, also known as a family tree). These charts are an important tool for understanding inheritance in a family.