US: The birth in Britain of a boy created to save his brother's life has rekindled the controversy over "designer babies".
Jayson and Michelle Whitaker travelled to a US clinic after UK fertility watchdogs refused to give them permission for treatment.
Their four-year-old son, Charlie, has a rare form of blood disorder, Diamond Blackfan anaemia which threatens his life. His only chance of a cure is a stem-cell transplant from a sibling with a perfect tissue match.
Jamie was delivered at Royal Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield by Caesarean section on Monday after being genetically matched while still an IVF embryo. Umbilical cord blood was taken immediately after the birth at the Jessop Wing maternity unit but the couple say they have not yet decided whether to go ahead with the transplant as it carries risks.
The news prompted calls for a parliamentary debate to re-examine the laws on fertility. Pro-life campaigners criticised what they described as the creation of a "designer baby".
But Mr Whitaker (33) from Derbyshire, said: "All we did was change the odds from a one-in-four chance of a tissue match to a 98 per cent chance. There was no selection on the basis of colour of eyes or hair or sex."
There is a 2 per cent chance Jamie will not be a perfect tissue match and blood tests will be carried out in the next few days "but at the moment we don't want to think about the stem-cell blood," Mr Whitaker said.
There is also a small chance that their second son could carry the life-threatening anaemia. Charlie could die by the age of 30 and has painful injections to his stomach five times a week.
The Whitakers' case follows that of Raj and Shahana Hashmi, who were given permission for IVF treatment to help cure their four-year-old son, Zain, who is seriously ill with a rare genetic blood disorder, thalassaemia.
The Hashmis will know by the end of June whether the IVF treatment has been successful.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) defended its decision not to allow the Whitakers treatment.
A spokeswoman said: "We have to look at the benefit for the embryo, not just the sibling. Perhaps some day in the future our policy will change. But at the moment we have to be quite strict in the way we issue licences, on a case-by-case basis, and looking at the scientific, medical, and moral issues before making any decision.
"There is clear guidance. HFEA policy states that women are allowed to have treatment only for the benefit of the embryo."
The HFEA said it was acceptable to test and select embryos to prevent the birth of a baby with a genetic disease, but not to select them to help another child.
But Dr Mohammed Taranissi, of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Unit in London, who worked with the Whitakers, said yesterday that treatment should not have been banned.
"At the end of the day, we have a life-threatening condition here and if there is anything we can do to help in this kind of situation, I don't see any ethical problem with that." - (PA)