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PLRG members present at the International Conference on Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy in Boston
Professor Keelin O’Donoghue and Dr Alex Dakin attended and presented at the 28th International Conference on Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy, held in Boston from 07-10 July 2024.
Presenting on behalf of Dr Gabriella McMahon, Professor O’Donoghue highlighted research undertaken to assess the availability of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and quality of information available to the pregnant population in the Republic of Ireland. Dr Sarah Kennedy and Dr Hadas Miremberg also collaborated on this work.
Dr Dakin presented a ‘Five-year review of termination of pregnancy for fatal fetal anomaly in a tertiary maternity hospital in Ireland’; work co-authored with Fidelma Harrington, Meghan O'Sullivan, Dr Deirdre Hayes-Ryan and Professor Keelin O'Donoghue.
It was heartening to learn at the conference that the article ‘Fatal fetal anomaly: Experiences of women and their partners’, by Dr Peter Jackson – along with Professor Keelin O’Donoghue, Dr Stacey Power-Walsh and Dr Rebecca Dennehy – was in the top 10 most downloaded articles in Prenatal Diagnosis (the official ISPD journal) in 2023/4. This is a really important piece of research which encourages an individualised perinatal palliative care approach to meet parents’ needs, and has won several awards to-date.
Dr Alex Dakin at ISPD2024
The International Conference on Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy is an annual conference hosted by the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD).
ISPD brings together a global multidisciplinary group of over 600 professionals from multiple disciplines such as prenatal and perinatal care, medical genetics, basic and translational science, genetic counselling, laboratory management, fetal therapy, ultrasonography, and ethics. The Society engages with all areas relevant to prenatal diagnosis and therapy, with a unique focus and expertise on reproductive and prenatal genetic screening and how this aspect of care integrates with other disciplines.
Save the date for next year’s ISPD conference which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 30 October to 02 November 2025.