Designer baby gets go-ahead

Metro13 April 2012

A couple have been given the go-ahead to create a designer baby to save the life of their son.

Fireman Joe Fletcher, 37, and his wife, Julie, are the first parents in the UK to be allowed to begin embryo screening treatment since the rules were changed in July.

'This is what we've been waiting for - it means we can go ahead and get a cure,' said 32-year-old Mrs Fletcher after getting the all-clear from fertility watchdogs. The couple's two-year-old son, Joshua, has Diamond Blackfan anaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder which can be treated by using stem cells to produce red blood cells in his body.

His parents and brother, from Moira, Co Down, are not close enough matches to provide the stem cells needed.

But IVF technology could be used to create a baby which is. Before July this was allowed only in cases of serious genetic illness.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in