大象传媒

大象传媒 World Service
Last updated:聽1 april, 2010 - 15:35 GMT

Saving Henry

In October 1995 Laurie Strongin and her husband, Allen Goldberg, were delighted to become parents to a son, Henry. However they soon learnt that because of a rare condition called Fanconi Anaemia, he would die in early childhood from bone marrow failure.

Laurie and Allen were offered a glimmer of hope for Henry's survival - a genetic test that might allow them to have another child to provide a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

But the procedure involved the selection of embryos - something that many Americans still see as an unacceptable intervention in nature, effectively playing God to create a child with specific characteristics.

Despite many attempts at IVF, Laurie was not able produce an embryo that was a perfect match for Henry.

And sadly, following an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor, Henry died in December 2002.

When Roger Hearing spoke to Laurie about her experiences, she began by describing how she and Allen first realised something was wrong with Henry.

Laurie's book Saving Henry is published now in the US.