MUM Denise Kelly is having talks with a specialist in Nottingham in her attempt to have the "designer baby" she hopes will save her terminally ill son's life.

The 31-year-old is looking to cure Nathan, aged three, who is suffering from a rare disease, Fanconi's Anaemia.

Her discussions with Dr Simon Fishel at the Care at the Park Hospital in Nottingham will be the first step towards that goal.

Miss Kelly said she would have the pioneering treatment "this week" if that was possible, after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority cleared the way for clinics to create made-to-order babies from genetically-screened embryos.

But first Dr Fishel has to apply for a licence to carry out the procedure. It is more likely the treatment will take place early next year.

Miss Kelly of Marion Street, Great Lever, said: "Once the licence application is out of the way, we can push ahead with the treatment. It can't come too soon."

She will undergo IVF treatment to create a series of embryos, the best of which would be implanted into her womb.

Doctors say the baby should be a perfect tissue match for Nathan. Stem cells from its umbilical cord would be manipulated to form healthy red blood cells to be infused into Nathan. A controversial precedent has been set by doctors in Chicago who saved the life of a youngster called Molly Nash, who also had Fanconi's Anaemia.

Miss Kelly said: "Parents like me can breathe a sigh of relief. Now I know my son doesn't have to die."