A MOTHER from Bolton has asked doctors to design her a perfect baby -- to save the life of her terminally ill son.

Denise Kelly is aware that Nathan, who has Fanconi's Anaemia, a rare genetic disorder thought to affect just one in six billion people, may have just four years left to live.

In a last ditch attempt at saving his life, the desperate mother has turned to controversial fertility expert Dr Mohammed Taranissi who claims to be able to offer treatment for £5,000.

She would use his services if the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority do not grant a license for genetic screening in Britain.

Miss Kelly would undergo IVF treatment in London to create a series of embryos. Those infected with Fanconi's Anaemia or any other disease would be discarded.

A healthy embryo would then be chosen and implanted into her womb.

When the baby, which will be an exact match for Nathan, is born, stem cells -- the most basic form of cell -- will be taken from the umbilical cord.

These will be manipulated to form healthy blood cells for Nathan which will, it is hoped, cure his condition.

It is a treatment used in America to help a youngster called Molly Nash who also had Fanconi's Anaemia. Molly's parents had a son developed in a test tube to save their daughter's life.

Dr Taranissi's team in Chicago created her baby brother Adam to ensure he carried blood cells to be transferred to his sister.

Denise said: "Surely anyone in the same position would do the same. I wouldn't think twice about having another baby generated from a test-tube if I could be sure it would help Nathan."

Miss Kelly of Marion Street, Great Lever, is waiting for the go ahead from the HFEA. If given the all-clear, she would be referred to Dr Simon Fishel, a fertility expert at the Park Hospital in Nottingham.

She said: "I have asked Nathan's doctor about it and would love to meet other families in the same boat to get another point of view, but the illness is very rare."

Dr Taranissi has attempted the technique before. He is currently treating a four-year-old leukaemia victim which he will only identify as coming "from the North of England."

The child's mother is 30 weeks pregnant and is due to have her baby in February.

Speaking exclusively to the BEN, Dr Taranissi, director of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre in London, dismissed concern from Pro-life campaigners who are against the concept of "designer babies."

The Egyptian-born specialist said: "The new-born baby will be healthy and well-looked after by their families.

"If you try and ban a procedure like this, then you may as well outlaw all medicine and surgery because they all have the same aim - to save lives."

He said Nathan's blood disorder meant he needed an exact donor match.

His new sibling would not have identical physical characteristics and could even be a girl.

Government health chiefs were expected to make a statement on the future of the scheme this week. It is legal in America.

Nathan's disease affects white blood cells and the production of bone marrow. It can be cured by a bone marrow transplant but because Nathan is an only child, the chance of such an operation working is slim.

Nathan has only one lung and suffers heart and hearing problems.

Bolton residents have donated generously in the BEN-backed Nathan Howarth Appeal.

Doctors in this country have told Denise that there is no cure for the disorder.

They have also told Nathan's parents that their son -- who cannot inhale smoke, go to a swimming pool or even sit on a new carpet because of chemicals that would trigger cancer in his blood cells -- has a life expectancy, at the very best, of no more than 20 years.

Nathan would become only the third child in the world to benefit from the potentially life-saving operation.

DESIGNING BABIES TO HELP OTHER SICK CHILDREN IS A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION? WRITE TO: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, BOLTON EVENING NEWS, CHURCHGATE, BOLTON BL1 1DE OR EMAIL palvino@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk