Clare Dyer, legal correspondent A couple whose son suffers from a rare blood disorder have been become the first parents in the United Kingdom to be given the go ahead to use preimplantation tissue typing solely to try to create a donor sibling who could save their child's life.
Joshua Fletcher's case is the first to be approved since the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) relaxed its rules in July (31 July, p 251).
Before then, under rules made in 2001, tissue typing could be carried out only on cells that had been taken from embryos for the purpose of excluding inherited diseases. Tissue typing was seen as just an additional procedure.
Under these rules the parents of Zain Hashmi, from Leeds, who had an inherited blood disease, were given permission in 2002 to try to create a tissue matched sibling. But the authority decided in July to allow preimplantation tissue typing to be used on its own, after a through review of the subject, including testing of public opinion.
The earlier rules had been widely criticised as too narrow, and the BMA had supported the change. Each application in future cases will be considered on its merits.
Joshua, from Moira, County Down, has Diamond-Blackfan anaemia, but no member of his family is a close genetic match. Stem cells from blood from a closely matched new sibling's umbilical cord could save his life.
The authority reached its decision after an application from the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, where Julie Fletcher and her husband, Joe, a fire fighter, will have in vitro fertilisation treatment.
The authority said in a statement: “After careful consideration and detailed review of the scientific, medical, and ethical aspects of this application the HFEA decided to grant a licence.
“The HFEA requires that any application submitted to carry out this procedure must be fully supported by the clinical team who are going to treat the existing sick child. The clinicians must show that they have considered every other treatment possible before applying to the HFEA.”
Mohammed Taranissi, director of the centre, said he had three applications still awaiting decisions by the authority. “Everybody is very happy because they will be able to have the treatment in this country. In previous cases the treatment had to be finished in the United States.
“Most of these cases are very young children, and they should have a life ahead of them.”
He said the Fletchers could start their treatment in about three weeks. “If everything goes to plan, hopefully by November we should have a result.”