Lords told couple wrong to make 'designer' baby

A couple who tried to create a designer baby to cure their sick son should never have been given permission to do so, it was claimed today.

Raj and Shahana Hashmi were given permission by the Human and Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to have embryos screened to provide a genetic match to their six year-old-son Zain. They hoped the baby born as a result would be able to donate compatible bone marrow to cure Zain of his rare blood disorder which caused a dangerous build up of iron in his bloodstream.

The couple from Leeds had been given permission to go ahead by the HFEA after winning an Appeal Court hearing against campaign group Comment On Reproductive Ethics (CORE). But the baby they created as a result was born premature and died last year.

In today's appeal hearing at the House of Lords, five Law Lords were told that the couple should never have been allowed to make their attempt. Lord Brennan QC told the court that the Human and Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 had forbidden the screening of embyros with the "intention" of using any resulting baby to donate bone marrow.

The Hashmi's case provoked huge controversy when it emerged in 2002 that they intended to create a designer baby. Their son, who suffers from Thalassaemia, was being kept alive through blood transfusions and they had failed to find a genetic match for a critical bone marrow transplant.