'Designer' baby born to British couple

Britain's first "designer" baby has been born to a couple trying to cure their son who suffers from a rare form of anaemia.

Britain's first "designer" baby has been born to a couple trying to cure their son who suffers from a rare form of anaemia.

Jamie Whitaker was born on Monday in Sheffield after being genetically matched, while still an IVF embryo, to his four-year-old brother Charlie, who suffers from the rare Diamond Blackfan anaemia.

Unless Charlie receives a transplant of blood cells from a sibling sharing the same immune system, he might not live past the age of 30.

Charlie's parents - Jayson and Michelle - travelled to the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago to have genetic screening on their IVF embryos after Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority refused them permission on ethical grounds.

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"All we did was the change the odds from a one-in-four chances of a tissue match to a 98 per cent chance," Mr Whitaker told the Daily Mail. "There was no selection on the basis of colour of eyes or hair or sex".

Doctors have told the parents to wait six months before going ahead with a transplant as there is a risk Jamie may also suffer from Diamond Blackfan anaemia.

The couple are also not "100 per cent" sure Charlie will undergo the transplant as the treatment itself carries risks.