Our miracle £60,000 gene baby
‘Designer’ embryo screened for life-threatening condition
When Lily Corley’s parents discovered they both carried the gene for a lifethreatening condition, they wanted to make sure their child was not at risk.
So they paid £60,000 for IVF treatment, asking a doctor to select a ‘designer’ embryo free from the genetic mutation which causes cystic fibrosis.
Michelle and Stephen Corley are both carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene, and were at risk of passing it on to their children. The condition, which causes chronic lung damage, can seriously reduce the life expectancy of those who have it.
But baby Lily was born, perfectly healthy, in October – to the Corleys’ delight.
Mrs Corley, from Wigan, said: ‘The nurses at the fertility clinic were ecstatic for us when Lily finally arrived... It’s been such an emotional rollercoaster and it’s cost us £60,000 to do it, but it has been worth every penny to finally have her with us, healthy and well.’
She added: ‘There were times when we never thought that we would be parents. But thanks to this wonderful technique, we not only have our beautiful daughter, but she is free of our family condition too.’
The couple had started trying for a family after they got married in August 2015, aware that cystic fibrosis was in Mr Corley’s family.
his wife, a special needs adviser, said: ‘Stephen’s sister has two children with it, and we knew there was a high chance that he was going to be a carrier of the gene defect. We were both tested just to make sure, and we were shocked when it came back that I was a carrier too.’
Cystic fibrosis causes a buildup of sticky mucus in the lungs, creating breathing problems and causing the lungs to stop working properly over time. When both parents carry the faulty gene which causes it, there is a one in four chance their baby will inherit and suffer from the condition.
however, fertility clinics can prevent the illness by fertilising a woman’s eggs in the lab, and taking a biopsy of the embryos which are created to test for the condition.
Pre-implantation genetic testchild,
‘Only chance at being parents’
ing (PGT) has become a routine procedure for couples who are concerned about passing on genetic diseases and want to select a healthy embryo for their pregnancy. Before having Lily, the Corleys had three nhSfunded attempts to have a baby using IVF and PGT at Care fertility clinic in nottingham.
Mrs Corley, 35, said: ‘We had never heard of the technique before, but it meant that we could have a baby without these abnormalities, so we decided to go ahead. It was our only chance at being parents.’
Their first attempts to have a in 2015 and 2016, 2016 did not result in a pregnancy, and the third try, in February 2017, did not produce an embryo free from cystic fibrosis.
When the fourth attempt in October last year failed, the couple, who funded it themselves at a cost of around £30,000, were nearly at breaking point.
Mrs Corley said: ‘We thought it was never going to happen.
‘It was such an emotional time for us – and it got harder each time that it failed – but we thought that as long as I could keep going with the treatment, then we would carry on.’
PGT, where embryos are frozen and sent off for testing, is considerably more expensive than routine IVF. But Mrs Corley and her 41- year- old husband, who is a director of an IT recruitment business, tried again at the beginning of this year – again paying close to £30,000. £30 000 Mrs Corley became pregnant but suffered bleeding in the first few weeks – although scans showed her baby still had a heartbeat.
Despite the scare, Lily arrived safely on October 20 at the Royal Albert Infirmary in Wigan, weighing 6lb 3oz. Mrs Corley said: ‘It was amazing... we just couldn’t believe it that she was actually here. It was the most emotional moment in our lives when we met her for the first time – I will never forget it.’
Lily is a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene, but does not have the condition herself so will not develop it.