Birth of a new generation: Five cell donor babies in US

Building on the high-tech science that lets couples choose their babies’ sex or screen for genetic disorders, researchers are reporting...

Building on the high-tech science that lets couples choose their babies’ sex or screen for genetic disorders, researchers are reporting the birth of five children from embryos created in a lab so they could serve as cell donors to seriously ill siblings.

Scientists at Chicago’s Reproductive Genetics Institute say this is the first time embryos have been screened to ensure that the baby could donate life-saving stem cells to a needy brother or sister. Yury Verlinsky, the institute’s director, said all babies were healthy and that the single transplant that has taken place was a success. The new research, to be reported in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, will add fuel to the debate over the ethics of conceiving a child for use as a donor and creating so-called ‘‘designer babies.’’ ‘‘It does verge on the horrors of cloning and selective breeding for particular characteristics,’’ said Dr Georgia B. Vogelsang, professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

‘‘Even if you say — and I absolutely agree — this (selecting for donor compatibility) is completely benign. Where do you then draw the line once you start doing such things?’’ she said.

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The new research involved nine couples with children suffering from leukemia or another similar blood condition. All the children potentially needed a stem cell transplant, using a donor of the same HLA, or human leukocyte antigen, type. In the best transplant match, six specific HLA markers are the same. Between 2002 and 2003, scientists at the institute created 199 embryos using in vitro fertilisation, then removed DNA to screen for HLA genes. Forty-five of the embryos were an HLA match, and 28 were implanted. When the babies were born, doctors collected blood from the umbilical cord as it is rich in stem cells, which give rise to white and red blood cells and platelets.

In one case, the harvested stem cells were transplanted into the sick sibling, who no longer needs red blood cell transfusions, the study said. Another child is preparing for a transplant, Verlinsky said, while the rest are in remission. The Chicago institute, which funded the research, is a leading institution in the field of reproductive genetics and has a large in vitro fertilisation programme. —(LAT-WP)

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The Supreme Court Monday issued notice on a plea seeking an independent and expeditious investigation into the June 12, 2025, crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people. The bench also termed as “unfortunate” media reports which indicated that “pilot error” was to blame for the crash, purportedly quoting some preliminary findings by the AAIB.

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