David Brinson has CADASIL, a genetic condition that causes him to have migrane headaches and mini-strokes. The condition, unfortunately, also has a 50-50 chance of being passed on to his children. Instead of playing the odds, however, David and Toni Brinson turned to IVF (in-vitro fertilization) and genetic testing to help eliminate the disorder from their family tree.

Through an Internet search, Toni Brinson learned about preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, a test that can detect a single-gene defect in an embryo before it is implanted into the uterus during in vitro fertilization. Although PGD had never been used to test embryos for CADASIL, geneticists at Genesis Genetics Institute in Detroit were able to create a specific marker to identify David Brinson's abnormality. The healthy embryos were identified, and the rest destroyed.

Although the Brinsons expect some people to question the ethics of their decision, they look at it as practicing "preventive medicine" by avoiding the potentially high health-care costs of caring for a child with health problems. Their first child is expected to arrive the first week of August.

Read more about the Brinson's in the Charlotte Observer. Or chart your own family's medical history to learn if you may be at risk of an inherited medical condition.