A test carried out to determine what combination of a particular set of genetic markers (termed HLA markers) a person has inherited. This procedure can be carried out on IVF embryos, to establish potential tissue compatibility for donating umbilical cord blood to a sibling.
Charlie Whitaker, the boy at the centre of a fierce debate over so-called 'saviour siblings', is 'effectively cured' of his rare blood condition. Six-year-old Charlie, who has Diamond Blackfan anaemia (DBA), received a transplant of cells taken from the umbilical cord of his brother James earlier this year. Three months...
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has announced a relaxation of the rules surrounding PGD and tissue typing, otherwise known as saviour siblings treatment. Predictably, the decision prompted a rash of media comment. But, perhaps unpredictably, nearly all the comment was positive and in support of the HFEA's decision...
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has decided that no distinction should be between the cases of the Hashmi family and the Whitaker family: that preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the sole purpose of tissue typing should be allowed. The news gives hope to many families who may now...
The British media has spent the weekend speculating on a decision expected to be made by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) this week on the vexed issue of 'saviour siblings'. The authority has to decide whether to relax its prohibition on the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD...
Raj and Shahana Hashmi, the couple who fought for the right to have a tissue-matched IVF baby to save the life of their son Zain, are stopping treatment after six unsuccessful attempts. The couple's doctors are now reluctant to continue because of Shahana's age (40), and because of the stressful...
Natallie Evans was diagnosed with a pre-cancerous ovarian condition and had to undergo surgery to have her ovaries removed. Before this happened, she underwent IVF treatment from which six embryos were created and are in frozen storage. She wants to use the embryos as she is desperate to have a...
This week's BioNews reports on news that a 'saviour sibling' is to be born in Australia. A couple from Tasmania sought preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with tissue typing in order to have a second child who would be free from a particular genetic condition, Hyper IgM syndrome. In addition, the...
The UK's House of Lords is to rule on a landmark legal battle over the creation of so-called 'saviour siblings'. A challenge has apparently been launched to a decision from the Court of Appeal that allowed a couple to use IVF with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and tissue-typing techniques to...
Raj and Shahana Hashmi, the couple who fought to be able to create a 'saviour sibling' for their son Zain, have suffered a further blow. Shahana, who had succeeded in becoming pregnant after using IVF treatment with embryo tissue typing, unfortunately suffered a miscarriage of the pregnancy. The procedure was...
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has recently announced that it will conduct an enquiry into human reproductive technologies and the law. Concerned about a number of recent legal challenges to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990, the committee feels that the legislation is getting quickly...
Subscribe for free to what PET does best – informing you of the latest in fertility, genomics and embryo research.
