Parents warned on 'designer' siblings

Parents who now have the right to attempt to conceive so- called "saviour siblings" to assist sick children were today warned that the procedure can be a long and painful process.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) last night relaxed its policy to allow screening for purposes other than detecting genetic disorders, despite opposition from pro-life groups.

Some campaigners fear the relaxed regulations could lead to parents choosing the sex, hair colour or other attributes of their "designer" child, but the HFEA today said the process will be a "last resort".

"We are going to look at this on a case by case basis, and we believe this should be a treatment of last resort," said HFEA chair Suzi Leather.

The move will allow parents to select embryos which offer a genetic match for their sick child and, when born, provide blood or tissue transplants to cure diseases.