'Designer Baby' Gets Go-Ahead (UK)

A couple in Northern Ireland have been permitted under a recent law in Great Britain to pursue the process which would lead to the first "designer baby," an embryo which would provide cells that could help treat the family's seriously ill three-year-old son.

To look at Joshua Fletcher, one would not see any signs of the illness. But he has a rare and potentially fatal blood disease called Diamond Blackfan anemia. In two years time, Joshua will be too old for the stem-cell therapy which could keep him alive. So for his parents, news that the treatment has been authorized is like the revocation of a death sentence.

"The chances are 95 percent in favor that Joshua with be cured by this therapy," said his father, Joe Fletcher. "If we do not do this, he will soon die." This new chance of life will come from an artificially created embryo, designed to provide cells for Joshua which in turn will produce the healthy red blood cells that will keep him alive.

The possible treatment was made a reality in the...