Embryo screening criticised

A report in the Mail on Sunday says that a British couple have paid almost £40,000 to 'create' a 'perfect baby' in the US. Inspired by the case of Molly Nash last year, a British woman who has a four-year old son with leukaemia has 'made medical history by becoming pregnant with a baby specially designed to help save the life of her son'.

The embryo screening process took place in the same Chicago clinic in which the Nash's were helped to have their baby boy born free from disease. Dr Mohammed Taranissi, head of the private Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, was involved in the treatment which entailed screening IVF embryos for abnormalities. Abnormal embryos were discarded, and further testing took place on the remainder to see if they would be a match for the older brother. It is hoped that when the baby is born, he or she will be able to donate umbilical cord stem cells to the brother.

The news has prompted criticism from pro-life supporters. Paul Tully from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said 'This is another step towards the reduction of human reproduction to a manufacturing process and the modification of the child to serve others.' But Dr Taranissi said 'the science is there to help these people have a happy outcome. What is wrong with that?'

Dr Taranissi and Simon Fishel, head of the CARE fertility centre at the Nottingham Park hospital, were due to meet with Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) licensing committee today to ask that the availability of genetic screening of embryos be widened in the UK.