Mike Wendling, CNSNews.com
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001

A spokesman for the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said that if Dr. Mohammed Taranissi follows through on this plan without a license, he could lose his right to perform in-vitro fertilization and face criminal charges.

Taranissi first made his claim on British television Monday night, saying that he wanted to help a couple conceive a child, then use blood from the child's umbilical cord to aid a sibling with a rare genetic disorder.

The procedure involves the creation of several embryos, followed by the selection of one or more embryos for implantation if they are of the correct blood type and do not contain the genetic code for the disease.

The procedure has already been used in the United States, most notably in the case of Molly Nash, a 3-year-old with the rare and eventually fatal genetic disorder Fanconi's anemia. Her parents conceived a child to provide umbilical stem cells to fight the disease.

Taranissi said that he had referred a woman to a Chicago clinic that performs the procedure and that the woman would give birth to a child in the U.K. within two months. He now wants permission to carry out embryo selection at his own medical facility in London, and one couple with a child that has Fanconi's anemia has already expressed interest in the procedure.

'Not Just a Spare Part'

"It's not a commodity, as the baby will be loved and cherished on its own merit," he said. "It's not just being produced as a spare part."

Taranissi said that a team from the Chicago clinic would arrive in London later this month, and that his embryo selection clinic might be operational by the end of January - with or without HFEA permission. The doctor could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

HFEA spokesman James Yeandel said Tuesday that Taranissi had already applied for a permit to screen embryos.

"That's where pre-implantation, you remove cells and look to see if there is a genetic disorder such as cystic fibrosis. The test is licenced in five centers in the U.K.," he said by phone.

Yeandel said that Taranissi's new proposal would need a separate application for "positive screening" - checking to make sure that the embryos are sufficiently compatible with their sibling, and thus could provide useful cells to the sick child.

Taranissi claims that a loophole in the 1990 law that created the HFEA would allow him to create a so-called "designer baby" even if the HFEA were to turn down his request to open the new clinic. The doctor claims that by taking one cell from an embryo, he is creating an object that does not fall under the HFEA's remit and can be tested at will. But Yeandel said that was a dangerous assumption.

"The law requires you to get a licence for any practices involving the implantation of embryo in a woman. So this would need approval by the HFEA," he said. "If Dr. Taranissi chose to ignore one of our rulings, he could lose his licence to perform in-vitro procedures and he could be prosecuted - performing such techniques without a licence is a criminal offense."

Yeandel also said that the HFEA was due to make an announcement later this week on an earlier designer baby application. The decision will likely set a precedent for such procedures in the U.K.

Authority Lacks Clout

Josephine Quintavalle, director of Britain's Pro-Life Alliance, said Tuesday that Taranissi's plans would infringe on the human rights of children.

"This would be a total offense against personal autonomy. This is not what a child is about, providing cells for others," she said. "We want a child to be valued for their own unique self."

Quintavalle said it was time for a rethink of the decade-old HFEA, if Taranissi is able to expose a loophole in fertility law. The HFEA is still stinging from a decision by Britain's High Court that determined the government had no legal authority over cloning. That ruling prompted emergency legislation to ban implantation of cloned embryos in humans.

"The HFEA doesn't seem to have any clout or willingness to engage in conflict over reproductive issues," Quintavalle said. "They have never put their foot down on anything."

Derrick Morgan, an expert in fertility law at the University of Cardiff, said Tuesday that it was possible that Taranissi has found a loophole in existing fertility law.

"Arguing that a cell is not covered by the HFEA is dubious," he said. But "Taranissi must think he has a case to argue if he plans to go through with this."

Copyright CNSNews.com

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