Ministry will make it easier for parents to screen embryos

After news broke yesterday that a Spanish mother had given birth to a baby boy who had been genetically selected to ensure he was free of a hereditary gene that causes breast cancer, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday that it would make it easier in the future for parents to screen embryos for certain diseases.

The National Commission for Assisted Reproduction is putting together a list of diseases that parents will be able to check for, with the aim of eradicating hereditary conditions. Those on the list would include illnesses that have no cure, said José Martínez Olmos, head of the panel.

The decision comes after the 31-year-old mother, whose family has a long history of cancer, was allowed to select an embryo that was free from a certain gene.

The mother, only identified as E. J., was the carrier of a mutation called BRCA1, which is said to be responsible for the breast and ovarian cancer deaths of five family members, including her own mother and two aunts.

The baby was born shortly before Christmas and is the first child in Spain to be genetically selected free from the BRCA1 gene, doctors say.

"The gene will no longer be part of our family's history," said the mother, who requested anonymity so that she can tell her son about their experience when he is older.