HFEA may take months on PGD decision

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has said that it will give careful consideration to a request made by the parents of Zain Hashmi, a two-year old boy with beta thalassaemia. The couple have asked that they be allowed to select embryos created by IVF in order to have a healthy child that could donate vital cells to their existing son.

An HFEA spokesman has confirmed that an application to carry out the treatment has been received from the Park Hospital's Centre for Assisted Reproduction in Nottingham. He said that the authority will consider the application very carefully, 'taking into account all the technical, medical and ethical issues involved'. He added that it would probably be several months before a decision was reached.

The Nottingham clinic has been condemned as irresponsible by Lord Robert Winston for offering to help. Lord Winston is concerned that the child could be forced into being a blood donor for its brother for the rest of its life. He said that by agreeing to the Hashmi's request, 'we would be producing a child that would have been born with completely the wrong expectations for it. It would be beholden to the older sibling and could not be a child in its own right'.

Simon Fishel, from the Nottingham clinic, said he was surprised by Lord Winston's comments. He said 'Zain will die without a compatible match and I think any parent would understand the dilemma this family is in. They have said they want more children; they would have to have IVF to screen the embryos so we might as well do the tissue typing at the same time'.

The Hashmis said on 'Tonight with Trevor MacDonald' last week that they would take legal action if the HFEA turned their request down, and may take their case to the European Court of Human Rights. They said they 'would do anything to save Zain's life'.