But using the tests to select an embryo as a tissue donor raises a host of new ethical questions.
Having a medical condition does not necessarily prevent a person from becoming an organ or tissue donor.
I encourage New Yorkers to sign up, both on their driver's licenses and through the newly established New York State Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
A person cannot become an organ or tissue donor if they have been diagnosed with HIV or if they have, or are suspected of having, vCJD.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month that a tissue donor had apparently transmitted the hepatitis C virus to eight people.
In September, he appeared before a congressional subcommittee in support of a bill that would create a National Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
To attain that goal, we urge people to find out more about organ donation, enroll in New York State's Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, and discuss their wishes with their families.
UNOS emphasizes that telling family members now, not in a will or letter, that you want to be an organ and tissue donor is the best way to make sure that your wishes are carried out.
Dr. Novello and Commissioner Raymond Martinez of the Department of Motor Vehicles announced that as of June 1, 103,674 New Yorkers were enrolled in the state's Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.
But they also put in a special request: that the child be genetically compatible with its sister so as to serve as a tissue donor.
On the other hand, cloning could prove medically useful for couples worried about passing on genetic diseases, infertile individuals who could not have a biologically related child any other way or parents needing a compatible tissue donor to cure a sick child.
