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Designer baby created to help four-year-old brother

by Victor Jayanetti

British woman who was desperate to cure her four year old son, who has a rare form of anaemia, has given birth to the Britain's first genetic "designer" baby.

Charlie has a rare form of anaemia which only a transplant of stem cells from a sibling with a perfect tissue match can cure. As he was the only child in the family, their option was to produce another baby with a tissue match. Distraught parents, Jason and Michelle, sought permission from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in Britain to genetically select a tissue match embryo. Following their refusal, both parents travelled to the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago for treatment.

First British designer baby, Jamie Whitaker, was delivered by Caesarean section this week after being genetically matched, while still an IVF embryo, to his four-year-old brother Charlie.

Joyful Whitaker, 33, a business manager, the father of the baby 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."

Blood tests are being carried out at the moment to see if Jamie is a perfect tissue match for Charlie. The vital stem cells have already been collected from Jamie's umbilical cord and tests will also be carried out to determine if the new baby has the same anaemia condition as his brother.

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